Ties that Bind
by SingingButterflyRose
Summary: A fire destroyed his family and he was made into a monster. However, when Hichigo Kurosaki learns that his brother Ichigo is still alive, everything changes. The only problem is that he doesn't know if it's for better, or for worse. Rating could change
1. Chapter 1

Bleach (c) Tite Kubo. i am just a loyal, borderline obsessed fan.

Story idea by me.

* * *

Fire crackled around the Kurosaki family as black smoke filled their lungs. They were all huddled together, the six of them: Isshin, the head of the family and his wife Masaki; their two sixteen year old sons, Ichigo and Hichigo; and their two thirteen year old daughters, Yuzu and Karin. Each of them had the same thought in mind, "How did this happen? Why did this happen?"

"I'm going to see if there's a way out of here. There has to be a way," Isshin said as he stood up among the thick smoke.

"Isshin don't," Masaki cried, tugging at his sleeve.

"If I can find a way out for my family to live then I'm going. Even if it means sacrificing myself."

He disappeared into the smoke and fire. Not too soon after Masaki got up to follow him.

"Mom, where are you going?" Yuzu asked in a panic.

"I'm going to assist you father. Don't worry, we'll both return. Ichigo, Hichigo, look after your sisters."

Masaki soon disappeared into the smoke and fire. Isshin's voice rose through the crackling flames.

"Masaki what are you doing? I told you to stay with the kids!"

"I'm not going to let you do this alone!"

There was a loud rumble, followed by a sickening snap that shook the entire house. Yuzu buried her face into Ichigo's shirt and Karin's death grip on Hichigo's hand tightened.

"I'm scared, Ichigo."

Ichigo stroked his little sister's hair, "Everything's going to be ok."

Another snap, followed by a scream reverberated against the walls. Through the rumble they could hear their father shout, "Masaki? Masaki!"

Yuzu's loosened her grip on her brother's shirt.

"What are you doing Yuzu?"

There was another snap, and another wail. That had done it. Yuzu bolted in the direction her parents had gone.

"Yuzu wait!" Karin cried, running after sister.

Ichigo and Hichigo both called after her, "Karin, stop!"

Their sisters didn't get very far. Both of the boys stood in horror as large debris came down and crushed their sisters. More dust and smoke billowed around the house, obscuring their vision.

"What on earth are you doing?" Ichigo shouted as his brother stood up.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to find a way out."

"Idiot, there is no way out!"

"Just because you've given up doesn't mean I have."

He began to walk away, only to be stopped by Ichigo again.

"Let go, Ichigo."

Ichigo stood up beside his twin, "I'm not going to let you do this alone."

Hichigo smiled at his brother. The two of them had always been inseparable. They even looked alike too, save for Hichigo having lighter orange hair and lighter brown eyes. The two of them did everything together.

A rumble shook above them, and as debris fell down towards them they both jumped back in opposite directions. The debris landed between the two of them, blocking their view of each other. Smoke and dust entered Hichigo's lungs and eyes. He collapsed to the floor, cough and writhing in pain. His brain fogged up as he began to lose consciousness. The last thing he heard was his brother shouting his name.

"Hichigo? Hichigo!"

* * *

Hichigo heard voices, lots of them. They were loud, and they grated at his ears.

"What's going on?" he thought. "Am I dead?"

Something poked him in the face and his eyes snapped open. He jumped in surprise as a face loomed into view. It was a man who had wavy brown hair and pair of glasses over his brown eyes. His body donned white pants and a white coat, with a black lining.

"Ah, so are you are awake. Excellent."

Hichigo took in his surroundings before noticing he was strapped to a metal table.

"What's going on? Who are you? Let me out of this thing!"

The man smiled at him, "So many questions at once. You'll find out everything in due time."

"Where's Ichigo? I have to find Ichigo!"

The man raised an eyebrow, "Ichigo? Do you mean the other boy that was in the fire? He died along the rest of your family.

Hichigo's breath hitched, "Ichigo's dead? I don't believe you," he began shaking, "I don't believe you!"

He struggled against his restraints, "Ichigo," he shouted, "Ichigo!"

"Yammy, knock him out for me will you?"

Hichigo turned his head to find the largest being he had ever seen coming towards him. The man's dark tan skin was covered by white pants and an open white jacket. On the back of his head he had a large pony tail, the rest being bald with four protrusions on his cranium. His eyes were dark brown and underneath each of them was a red tattoo. His eyebrows were orange, and on his chin was a white jawbone. However, the thing that freaked Hichigo out the most was the large hole in this guy's chest. This guy had a hole. A hole! The guy shouldn't even be alive.

"Who are you? Don't come near me!"

Yammy smirked before swiping his hand across Hichigo's face, knocking him out cold.

"Yammy, I told you to knock him out, not crack his skull." The other man in the room sighed.

Yammy turned to look at Hichigo's face, noticing blood trickling down his face, "Huh. Well I apologize, Lord Aizen."

Aizen removed his glasses and swept his hair back, a sadist look in his eyes, "No matter, He'll go to Mayuri soon. He'll be able to patch him up."

"Is what you told him true? Did everyone in his family die in the fire?"

"That fire I set was meant to kill everyone in the Kurosaki family. I'm surprised he's actually alive.

"Then why is he here if he's supposed to be dead in the first place?"

"You're certainly full of questions Yammy. You'll find out in due time."

"He didn't seem convinced that his brother was dead."

I don't know if his brother survived or not, but he wasn't there so he's as good as dead anyways."

"What if he isn't dead and he's looking for his brother?"

"He won't look for his brother Yammy, because to him Hichigo is dead as well."

* * *

Author's note:

Alright my readers, I have succumbed to the plot bunnies.

If any of you recall, I have a songfic titled "Ties that Bind" which is a part of the Bleach songfic series I am currently working on. i had mentioned that that particular songfic could actually make a pretty good story. After struggling with the rabid plot bunnies in my head i finally decided to give in to them, and thus this story was born :).

I'll try to update this story as often as I can, but because I'm lazy and easily distracted I cannot make any promises.

Reviews would be lovely!

Take care and God bless,

SingingButterlyRose


	2. Chapter 2

Bleach (c) Tite Kubo. I am just a loyal, borderline obsessed fan.

Story idea by me.

* * *

Orihime Inoue sat in the dimly lit room, her hands folded in her lap. The room was quiet, save for the beeping coming from the monitor, and the heavy breathing coming from the occupant in the bed beside her. Her cheeks were heavily stained with tears and her eyelids were heavy, as if she didn't get any sleep for days.

The door opened. She didn't even look up to see who it was, but continued to stare at the occupant in the bed. His eyes were tightly shut and he looked as if he were in a lot of pain.

"Orihime you need to go home, you've been here for days. Go home and get some sleep."

"I'm not going anywhere, Uryū," Orihime replied quietly.

Uryū gave a sigh and sat down beside her, "Well if you aren't going to leave I might as well keep you company. This is my father's hospital after all."

She gave him a small smile, only to have her expression return solemn again soon after. Uryū's blue eyes looked at her in pity. The four of them—Ichigo, Hichigo, Uryū, and Orihime—were an inseparable group.

Ichigo was the protector. He didn't care who it was, if someone threatened his family or friends they would be introduced to his fist. He was brash and defiant, but he had a heart of gold. He was all heart and no nonsense.

Hichigo was even more brash and defiant than his brother. He was a self proclaimed badass, a tease, and a delinquent. Despite these things he was also the one who usually made them laugh. They could always count on him to brighten up their day. Hichigo was the punk wisecracker, and the other three wouldn't change him for the world.

Uryū had no idea how he became friends with the Kurosaki twins, but he was. He was the one who made sure the two of them didn't do anything too irrational, though that always ended up being a waste, most of the time he argued with the two of them. If they did something stupid, Uryū would remind them of their growing stupidity. He argued with them, but if it weren't for Uryū the Kurosaki brothers would be in trouble more often than not. Uryū was the mind of the group, always keeping the two boys that made up the heart in control.

And then there was Orihime. Although the boys sometimes worried about her insanity—with her silly antics and odd taste buds—Orihime was the core of their group. She was the glue that held them together. The other three could always count on Orihime to comfort them when the world had become too much for them to handle. She was their shoulder to cry on, and their peace maker. If Ichigo and Hichigo made up the heart, and Uryū made up the mind, then Orihime definitely made up the soul.

The fire destroyed everything. The heart was broken into pieces—one half being destroyed completely; the mind kept asking why and failed repeatedly to come up with any conclusion; and the light, the soul had been snuffed out. The once strong group of friends had been reduced to ashes. Ashes that Uryū knew would eventually go their separate ways in the wind.

"I loved him."

Uryū jumped at Orihime's statement, "What?"

"Hichigo, I loved him. I tried to keep it to myself, but deep down I think he knew."

"He did," Uryū confirmed for her.

"I was going to confess to him, tomorrow actually. But now I…now I…"

Her eyes brimmed with tears and she was on the verge of breaking down, until a groan from the bedside caused her and Uryū to go on the alert.

"Ichigo?" she whispered quietly, taking a hold of his hand.

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes, "Orihime? Where am I?"

"You're in my father's hospital," Uryū said, sitting on Ichigo's other side.

"Uryū, you're here too?"

"Idiot, why wouldn't I be?"

"What happened? Why am I here?"

Orihime scrunched up her face in confusion, "Ichigo there was a fire. Do you not remember?"

Ichigo quickly sat up. Uryū made a move to make him lay back down but Ichigo slapped him away, "Don't touch me, Uryū."

"Ichigo you-"

"Where is Hichi? Is he here?"

Uryū and Orihime were silent. Tears started to brim Orihime's eyes again and she began to bite her lip.

"Tell me where Hichi is. Please."

"Ichigo, you were the only one we found alive at the scene. Isshin, Masaki, Yuzu, and Karin—they were all dead. Hichigo was nowhere to be found. All we found of his was this…"

Uryū placed a silver chain in Ichigo's lap. The chain had a simple, black square charm at the end. Ichigo, Orihime and Uryū had matching necklaces with different colored charms. Ichigo's was red, Uryū's was blue, and Orihime's was white.

"What are you saying, Uryū?"

"We looked everywhere for Hichigo. We have to assume that he's-"

"Don't. Don't say that he's dead."

"Ichigo, it's the only logical explanation."

Ichigo roared, his eyes blazing, "He isn't dead!"

The room was quiet, eerily so. Ichigo placed his head in his hands and choked back a sob, "He can't be."

* * *

Hichigo gave a groan. His head was throbbing, his gut felt like someone whacked it with a bat, and his throat was dry and parched.

"Ah, it looks like you've finally woken up."

Hichigo looked around frantically for the source of the voice. A frightening face came into view, to close for Hichigo's comfort, and he staggered backwards. The man, or whatever it was, was quite the frightening sight. His face was painted black and white and his eyes, which looked genetically altered, were a golden orange. His outfit consisted of a black and white lab coat with a dark purple scarf. On his head was an odd hat. In Hichigo's opinion it looked like a toilet seat. And were those gold cups on his ears? Did they just cover them up, or did they replace them completely?

"Who are you? What do you want? Where am I?" Hichigo asked in a panic, backing away from the strange…person.

"My my there's no need to shout. Did Yammy bash your head that hard?"

"What? Yammy?" Hichigo wondered in confusion.

The fire, the strange brown haired man, being strapped to a metal table; everything came rushing back to him. Hichigo's eyes blazed and he grabbed the man by the collar, shaking him back and forth.

"Where is Ichigo? Tell me where he is!"

Electric shocks ran through his body, causing Hichigo to drop to the ground, writhing in pain.

"You dare attack your creator? You incompetent fool."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Hichigo gasped, glaring up at the man.

"My name is Mayuri Kurotosuchi, and I am your creator."

Hichigo continued to stare up at him with a confused expression, causing Mayuri to sigh.

"It seems you still don't understand. You have been genetically altered by me to be part of a special force of genetically altered soldiers."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Would you like to see? Very well."

The east wall opened up to reveal a large mirror. Hichigo stared at his reflection in horror. His hair and become white and his once brown iris had also turned white. Was his sclera turning black? He could see it creeping along. On his neck was a strange silver collar.

"What have done to me...What have you done?"

He lunged at Mayuri, ready to rip his head off, when Mayuri pushed a white button on a black remote of many colors causing Hichigo to collapse to the floor once more in pain.

"You should learn your place, Hichigo Kurosaki."

Hichigo craned his neck to look at who spoke. It was the brown haired man from before. Only this time he wasn't wearing glasses and his hair was slicked back.

"Why am I here? Tell me damn it."

"Were you not listening? You have been genetically altered to become part of an army. _My _army."

As the brown haired man spoke several doors opened, revealing occupants behind them. Hichigo looked at the people in shock. All of them genetically altered, and all of them having a silver collar around their necks, and all of them having a different weapon. What was worse was that every single one of them had a gaping hole on their body, as if they were born with it.

"I don't want to be a part of this, damn it! If you don't let me leave-"

"If I don't let you leave then what? You'll run to your family? You'll tell the law? You have no family, and I _am _the law. You really don't have much of a choice."

He held up a black remote like the one Mayuri had, "See this? This is used to control you. As long as you have that collar on your neck I own you. My name is Sōsuke Aizen, and I am your master. From now on your name will no longer be Hichigo Kurosaki. From now on you will go by the name Shiro."

"Shiro?" Hichigo thought to himself, "What the hell kind of name is that?"

"Fuck off," Hichigo replied, sneering at Aizen.

The electric shocks ran through his body once more. It hurt like hell. Did they turn up the voltage?

"I told you to learn your place, Shiro."

Hichigo glared up at him, unable to move. Aizen lips curled in self satisfaction,

"Welcome to the Arrancars Shiro, the Army of the Masked Beasts."

* * *

Author's Note:

Hooray, chapter two!

You might notice that some characters are slightly ooc. Does this bother you? Well get over it.

Just kidding. But seriously, some characters might be _slightly_ ooc throughout the story. I apologize if this upsets any of you.

Review are appreciated!

Take care and God bless,

SingingButterflyRose


	3. Chapter 3

Bleach (c) Tite Kubo. I am just a loyal, borderline obsessed fan.

Story idea by me.

* * *

"Ichigo, the police are here to see you."

Ichigo looked up to find to men standing in the doorway. He wanted to curse the world. He didn't want to talk to the police. He didn't even want to go to school. He wanted to wander the town and be left alone.

He had been released from the hospital three days prior and Uryū was kind enough to let him stay at his place. It's not like he could go anywhere else though. He didn't plan on staying at Uryū's place for very long though. He'd get a job, and find himself his own place. He wasn't going to make his burden the burden of everyone else.

"What can I help you with?" Ichigo asked, stepping out into the hall.

"Is there somewhere we could talk more privately, Mr. Kurosaki?"

Ichigo didn't even look to see who asked, "Yeah," he replied, "follow me."

He led them to roof of the school. It wasn't exactly the most ideal place, but he couldn't think of a better place.

"You led us to the roof? Is that the best place you could think of?"

Ichigo slowly turned to glare at the officer who spoke to him. He could tell immediately who it was by just looking at his stature. The man was tall, probably a head taller than Ichigo, and he had a smug smirk that stretched across half his face. His hair was a ridiculous shade of red and it was pulled back in a ponytail with a bandana wrapped around his forehead. From what Ichigo could see, the officer had his fair share of tattoos. He could see some hidden under the bandana and some peeking under the collar of the officer's uniform.

"I was just looking out for you, officer. The other students might make fun of your ridiculous mug. What happened during your training? Did your fire arms backfire on you and singe your eyebrows? Is that why you have those ridiculous tattoos on your face? And your hair, it looks like the follicles had sex with a pineapple."

The officer grabbed Ichigo harshly by the shirt, "You punk. I could easily take you down right now."

"Go ahead, I'll just take you down with me."

The other officer placed his hand on Tattoo Face's shoulder, "That's enough Renji. Control your emotions."

"Control his emotions indeed," Ichigo thought to himself as this Renji fellow released him. He got a good look at the other officer with him. This one screamed emotionless. Or rather, didn't scream it. The officer's black hair came down to his shoulder, and his grey eyes seemed to pierce Ichigo. His frowning lips didn't make Ichigo feel any better. It's like he was judging him. This man was the complete opposite of his partner, Ichigo had a hard time imagining them working together.

"My name is Byakuya Kuchiki, and this is my partner Renji Abarai. We'd like to ask you few questions regarding the fire."

"What's there to ask? There was an accidental fire. My family is dead. End of story."

"Will you shut up and listen?" Renji barked, thumping him across the head.

Ichigo turned to give him a piece of his mind, but was stopped by Byakuya, "Settle down Ichigo Kurosaki. We're only trying to help you."

"You can't help me."

"What if we told you the fire might not have been an accident?"

That had Ichigo interested, "What do you mean?"

"Over the course of three years there have been house fires caused by a number of things. Each one of them seems like an innocent accident. However, at each house we've noticed the same thing. Do you recognize this emblem?"

Officer Kuchiki held out a coin to Ichigo. It was small, about the size of a half dollar, made of gold, and a large H was engraved in the foreground while a C was engraved in the background.

"What is this?" Ichigo asked, running his finger over the coin.

"That's the emblem for Hōgyoku Corporation. Have you heard of them before?"

"No. What's that? Are you saying they're responsible for the fire?"

"That's information we can't share with you."

"Whoa, hold up. You drag me out of class, ask me if I know what this Hōgy-whatever thing is, only to tell me you _can't _tell me anything about them? You have got to be fucking kidding me."

"Hey, watch your mouth kid," Renji growled.

"We can't share information with you because we have no information to share, Ichigo Kurosaki. That is done by our Detective Specialists. They're the only ones keeping tabs on them."

"And they can't share their information with their own comrades?"

"It's a very complicated situation."

It was silent between the trio, awkwardly so.

"Is there anything else you want to ask me? I have to back to class."

"No, that will be all."

The two of them beginning to walk towards the door of the roof. Ichigo's mind was buzzing. If these Detective specialists are the ones keeping tabs on these people who quite possibly destroyed his family, then maybe…

"Wait," he called after them.

"Yes?"

"Is there a way I could work with these Detective Specialists?"

"We don't take anyone who is still in high school. I'm sorry."

"No, you don't understand. If I train with them then I could-"

"You could what, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"I could find Hichigo."

"I'd hate to break it to ya kid, but your brother's dead."

"No he's not. He's not dead. He's out there somewhere, and I'm going to find him no matter how long it takes. Please, there has to be someone I can talk to."

Byakuya was silent. The boy was young; did he really know what he was getting into? And the commander of the Detective Specialists was quite the handful, would he be willing to work with him?

"I will let them know of your request. If they approve of you, then they will come to you. If they don't, _do not _try and find them. You will fail in vain."

"How can they come to me when they don't even know who I am?"

"They will find you. Good day, Ichigo Kurosaki."

They left, leaving Ichigo on the roof. He couldn't believe it, he actually might be given a chance to find his brother.

"I'll find you Hichigo, even if I have to go through hell, I'll find you. I promise."

* * *

Sōsuke Aizen and the toilet head freak had left the room, leaving Hichigo and the …whatever they were alone.

A hand reached down to Hichigo in a friendly gesture to help him up. After looking at the owner he cringed, "Get away from me."

The owner of the hand had the body of a horse. A fucking _horse. _The fur was a light brown with a tinge of grey and a black tail. The humanoid part was that of a female. Her body was covered in a white, tight fitting uniform with a black lining, and armored shoulder pads. Her hair was a bluish-green and came down in waves over her shoulder. Over the bridge of her nose and under her hazel eyes was a red tattoo. On her head was the skull of a goat or a ram. Hichigo couldn't see a gaping hole in her body, but he knew she had to have one somewhere.

"I'm not here to hurt you," she replied.

"Like hell I'd believe that, especially when you're standing there with a giant lance in your hand."

The woman dropped her weapon and held out her hand once more, "Better?"

"No."

Before she could respond a giant scythe flew in their direction. The centaur-like woman whirled around in rage and stopped the weapon with her bare hand, not even getting a scratch.

"What are you doing Nnoitra? He's our comrade now, you can't just go and attack him."

"Don't be so sensitive Nelliel. There's a reason Aizen chose him so he has to have some potential. I'm only judging his abilities."

Hichigo got a good look at the Nnoitra fellow. The man had an extra pair of arms, all four of them holding a giant scythe. He too was wearing a white uniform with black lining. On his head were a pair of horns, the left side being taller than the right, and both of them curved. His black hair reached to his shoulders and part of it partially covered his eye. Hichigo wished it covered the entire eye because if he was seeing things correctly then this guy had a hole in his _head. _

"How the hell is he even alive?" Hichigo thought, "And what's with the mask on his face? Why do they all have mask?"

"Nnoitra you're such an idiot."

Hichigo looked around for the sound of the voice and saw another…thing walking towards them. This guy had the same white uniform, only his seemed like a full body suit. His hole was in his stomach and there were sharp looking blades coming from his elbows. The man's hair was a light blue that reached to his waste, with other strands falling over a bony crown. Under his blue eyes were green tattoos that extend to his cat ears. The guy had cat ears. And a tail. He had cat ears, a tail, and claws. Even his teeth took on a cat like appearance.

"You shut the hell up Grimmjow," Nnoitra sneer. "You were wanting to test him out too, I saw that look in your eyes. You looked like a cat stalking a mouse."

"I, unlike you, wouldn't attack a man when he's down. Doing so makes you a coward."

Nnoitra glared raising a scythe, "What was that?"

"That's enough you two. We're trying to win Shiro's trust, not drive him away," Nelliel stated firmly.

"My name isn't Shiro," Hichigo growled, standing up.

"But that's what Aizen-"

"I'm not going to answer to that name. My name is Hichigo, and I will answer to that name only."

"Well Hichigo, my name is Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. To my left is Nnoitra Gilga and to my right is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Come, I shall introduce you to the others."

"I'm not interested in meeting anyone else."

"You really have no choice. We are your family now. The family you once had is now gone."

"Shut the hell up. Like any of you would know how I feel."

"You mean like losing our families?" Grimmjow snapped, "I'd hate to break it to ya kid, but we all lost our families the same way you did."

"An accidental fire? That seems highly coincidental."

"An accident? Hichigo, the fire at your house wasn't an accident. The fires that destroyed our own families were not accidents."

Hichigo eyed Nelliel suspiciously, "What do you mean they weren't accidents?"

"I'm going to tell you something. Something you might not want to hear. It involves Hōgyoku Corporation, the very organization that we are now a part of."

Hichigo blinked in confusion, "Hōgy-what?"

* * *

The hour was late as Ichigo stared at the ceiling while Uryū worked on some last minute homework at the desk across the room. There was silence, save for the scritch-scratch of Uryū's pen.

"What did the police want to talk with you about?" Uryū asked, not looking up from his work.

"The fire. They said they found an emblem of the Hōgyoku Corporation at the scene."

"What's the Hōgyoku Corporation?"

"They wouldn't tell me. They said its classified information that only these Detective Specialists know of."

"You asked if you could speak with these specialists, didn't you?"

Ichigo sat up surprise, "How did you-"

"Because it's written all over your face. What are you expecting them to do for you, Ichigo?"

"I want them to train me. I want them to train me so I can find Hichigo."

"You really believe he's alive?"

"Of course I do."

"I might be jumping to conclusions, but just by their name they'd seem like a hard group to even get a hold of. What makes you think they'd even take you in?"

"It's worth a try Uryū."

"What about Orihime?"

"What do you mean 'what about Orihime'?"

"Will she approve of this? This sounds dangerous to me Ichigo. You know how Orihime feels about things like this."

"If it's for Hichi she'll understand."

"You knew didn't you, about her feelings for Hichigo?"

"Of course I knew. She even came up and asked me if it was alright if she confessed to him. Silly girl."

"How did that make you feel?"

"What is this a counseling session? It doesn't matter how I feel about Orihime's feelings for my brother because it really isn't any of my business."

"Ichigo-"

"Drop it Uryū."

Uryū stayed silent while staring at his friend. It was obvious that Ichigo liked Orihime. Well, at least it was obvious to someone as observant as Uryū. He wondered how Ichigo felt, or what he was thinking when Orihime admitted to liking his brother. Was it jealously? Did he wish she was confessing to him? Now that Hichigo was gone would Ichigo go after Orihime, or would he respect his brother—whom he believed to still be alive—and let him have her?

A knock at the door shook Uryū out of his thoughts. Who would be coming to his house at midnight? It couldn't be Orihime, she always went to bed early. It certainly wouldn't be his father. So who could it be?

"I'll get the door Uryū, you need to finish your school work," Ichigo said, rolling off the bed and heading towards the front door.

Ichigo peered into the darkness, not seeing anyone, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

A shadow moved and Ichigo turned to see the silhouette of a man sitting on the porch railing. It was too dark for Ichigo to see the stranger's face.

"I hear you want to become a Detective Specialist, eh Ichigo?"

* * *

Author's note:

Huzzah, another chapter!

Yes my readers, that is a cliff hanger you see, and no, I am not sorry :).

Before I continue on, I'll just sit back and wait for you fangirls to stop your squee-fest after imagining Renji and Byakuya in police uniforms.

...Are you finished? Excellent! Moving on.

I realize that Uryū procastinating on school work seems highly unlikely, but hey, even the best of us procrastinate.

Can anyone guess who the commander of the Detective Specialists is? I think it's pretty obvious.

A special thank you goes out to himelove22, Child of the Ashes, and nypsy for their encouraging reviews. More reviews are definitely welcome!

Things are going to get heated in the next chapter so stay tuned!

Take care and God bless,

SingingButterflyRose


	4. Chapter 4

Bleach (c) Tite Kubo. I am just a loyal, borderline obsessed fan.

Story idea by me.

* * *

Ichigo looked the mystery man over. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the light of the moon, he could see him more clearly. He was wearing a pair of baggy, faded jeans, a wrinkled shirt that looked like it had been pulled out of the dirty clothes hamper, a pair of flip flops—in the middle of winter, no less—and a green and white striped hat that shadowed the majority of his face.

Ichigo could see grey eyes peeking out from under the hat and pale blonde hair as well. The man also had a five o'clock shadow. In short, he looked like he spent his nights without any sleep. Either that or he was homeless.

"Who the hell are you?"

The man pouted. "How rude. I come all this way to find you and this is how you greet me?"

Uryū, who had grown impatient, joined the pair. "Who are you?" He turned to Ichigo, "Is he homeless?" The mystery man's eye twitched. "Homeless? Do I really look that grungy?"

"I don't care what you look like, just tell us who you are," Ichigo grumbled.

"Geez, so impatient." The man sighed while hopping off the railing. He took off his hat and gave a low bow. "Kisuke Urahara, Commander of the Detective Specialists, at your service."

Ichigo blinked.

"Wait—What? You already found me?"

"That's our job. Finding people is what we do."

Uryū looked at him questionably. "Just how many of you are there?"

Kisuke shrugged. "A handful. Well Ichigo, why don't we go inside and talk about the Hōgyoku Corporation."

"I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about how I can find my brother."

"You heard Officer Kuchiki, didn't you? Their emblem was found at your house. There's a high possibility they could be connected to the disappearance of your brother."

* * *

"The Hōgyoku Corporation," Nelliel repeated.

"Okay... What the hell is that?"

She sighed, "10 years ago, Sōsuke was a part of the Detective Specialists. A secretive branch of the Karakura Police Force. During his time there, Aizen was in the process of created something legendary. A serum of sorts."

"For what, exactly?"

"The serum was going to be used to create super soldiers… Individuals who were strong enough and smart enough to withstand whatever was thrown at them. They would be used as a last minute solution should there ever be a war."

"And this Hōgyoku was the base of the serum?"

"It was."

"So what happened?"

"Aizen's idea was well received by his colleagues, at first. In fact, they praised him for it. That is, until the results began to backfire. Aizen had gotten volunteers from the police force to try out the serum. The results seemed to work, but two days after, all of the volunteers died. During the autopsy they noticed one continuous thing: certain cells had been transformed into super cells. These super cells drained the normal ones completely dry of nutrients. They were like parasites. In other words, the bodies of the volunteers were eating themselves from the inside out."

"They did stop him, didn't they?"

"Not without a fight. Aizen kept on saying he could perfect it, make it safer. He tested out each new serum on animals, and all of them had the same result. Death. The other Detective Specialists tried to tell Aizen countless times that his serum was dangerous, to just forget about it, but Aizen began to sprout nonsense, saying they were all jealous of his other Detective Specialists had a meeting and they concluded that Aizen was dangerous. They kindly asked him to leave. The night he was asked to leave, Aizen forcefully tested out his serum one more time, on a group of Detective Specialists. There were eight of them. The serum worked. They didn't die, but it changed them. The commander of the entire forces, Genreyūsai Yamamoto ordered their execution because he deemed them dangerous. No one knows if they are alive or dead."

"Did these people look like you?"

Nelliel shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I've never met them. "

"What happened to Aizen?"

"Aizen was subdued and arrested for his crimes. Four people were in charge of his arrest: Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihōin, and Isshin and Masaki Kurosaki.

* * *

Ichigo glared. What did this man know about his parents? "My parents weren't Detective Specialists. I'm sorry, but you're wrong. My father was a doctor, and my mother was a preschool teacher. You must be mistaking them for someone else."

"I'm sorry Ichigo, but they were. Detective Specialists must have two jobs in order to keep our identity a secret. We have our regular jobs by day, and at night, we devote our time to our Detective Specialist duties.

"At night huh?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"When Hichigo and I were younger, before Yuzu and Karin were even born, the two of us woke up in the middle of the night because we heard them leaving. When we asked them what they were doing, they said they were going to look at the stars. Naturally, Hichigo and I asked if we could go too. I guess we prevented them from going to work that night, huh?"

"The four of you were their pride and joy. They talked about you kids all the time."

"Did you agree to see me, because my parents were one of you?"

"I'm here to help you find your brother. If I can help bring the Kurosaki family back together then that will be my greatest accomplishment. Though, I was surprised to hear at least one of you was still alive. I was sure that…" Kisuke couldn't finish his sentence.

Ichigo wasn't particularly upset about it. He relived that nightmare enough already.

"So he went after my family, because they were the ones who arrested him?"

"Aizen went after everyone in the Detective Specialist unit. He's been picking us off one by one."

"How many of you were there in the beginning?"

"There were thirty of us."

"And how many of you are there now?"

Kisuke got a solemn look on his face, making Ichigo regret even asking.

"Eleven."

* * *

"How did he escape prison?" Hichigo asked curiously

"Everyone knew Aizen was smart. They were foolish to think he wouldn't be able to escape. He was toying with them, biding his time. Aizen had a cellmate while in prison... Mayuri Kurotsuchi."

"The freaky guy with the painted face? What was he in prison for?"

"He too, had been doing dangerous experiments, on himself and on his daughter. Mayuri gave human experimentation a new _meaning.._."

Hichigo looked disgusted. "His own daughter? What happened to her? Is she still alive?"

"None of us know."

"Sick bastard."

"Aizen was fascinated with Mayuri's progress. The two of them began to form ideas of mixing Aizen's Hōgyoku serum with Mayuri's. The night they escaped they began working on the final product. As you can see, they've tested it out on each of us, whether it had been perfected or not."

"So Aizen burned the houses of the people who defied him, and if there were any survivors, he turned them into mutants? How come nobody tried to stop him? How come _you_ guys didn't try to stop him."

"Do you not see the things around our necks?"

Another voice spoke… The one with the cat-like features. What was his name again? Grimmjow…?

"They don't come off. No matter how much we want to defy them, we get a fucking electric shock that hurts like hell."

"Aizen also promised us freedom and power if we agree to work for him," Nelliel added.

Hichigo scoffed. "Freedom and power huh? And how's that working out for you?"

"All of us had everything taken away in an instant. What else did you expect us to do?"

"Fight back."

"Believe me, some of us did," Grimmjow countered, "You however, are still weak. Even if you were already physically stronger than Aizen or Mayuri, you can't do anything to them as long as that collar's around your neck. They make us strong enough to destroy anything except for the collar."

"Then, I'll wait."

"On what?"

"One of these days, they'll make a mistake. They'll slip up. So until that day comes, I'll wait. Don't get me wrong, I will continue to fight, because I refuse to let them control me, but I'll wait."

"What will you do if that actually happens?"

"That should be obvious. I'll avenge the death of my parents, and my sisters Yuzu and Karin. I'll find Ichigo, and the Kurosaki family will stand once more."

* * *

"We know Aizen is behind these attacks. There's no telling when it will happen again, because the others have been so sporadic. They've been happening over a span of ten years. The Hōgyoku Corporation is elusive. As soon as we have a grasp on them, they slip away." Kisuke pounded his fist on the table they were all seated at and the room got silent.

"What are you going to do, Ichigo?" Uryū asked in an attempt to ease the tension.

"Isn't it obvious? No matter how long it takes me, I'm going to find this Hōgyoku Corporation. I'm going to find Hichigo, and he and I will show Sōsuke Aizen what happens to people who mess with the Kurosaki's."

* * *

Author's Note:

Huzzah, another chapter! Sorry for the wait folks.

A special thank you goes out to ChildoftheAshes for being my beta *hugs*.

Poor Kisuke. He's lost a lot of his comrades :(.

Can anyone guess who the remaining eleven (including him) are?

The answer will be revealed next time so stay tuned!

Reviews are always appreciated :).

Take care and God bless,

SingingButterflyRose


	5. Chapter 5

Bleach (c) Tite Kubo. I am just a loyal, borderline obsessed fan.

Story idea by me

* * *

Orihime waited patiently by the swing set on behalf of Ichigo's request. He had approached her during school that day and asked her to meet him at the park they used to go to as kids. She wondered what he wanted to talk about.

"I hope everything's alright. He seemed troubled."

The wind bit into her skin and the tips of her ears, making her regret not wearing ear muffs. The sun hadn't even finished setting. There was still plenty of light and yet there wasn't a soul at the park other than her. There weren't any children playing, nor were there couples cuddling on the various benches. Even the birds were quiet.

"Strange. I wonder why it's so quiet?"

"Orihime!"

Orihime turned and smiled as she saw Ichigo running towards her. He stopped in front of her, bent over with his hands on his on his knees, inhaling deeply.

"Are you alright?"

Ichigo smiled slightly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Running in the cold is surprisingly difficult though." He noticed Orihime's arm wrapped tightly around her body and placed his jacket over her shoulders, "Here, you must be cold."

Orihime began to wave her arms franticly and Ichigo had to lean back to avoid getting hit in the face, "You don't have to give me your jacket Ichigo, I've already got mine on. What about you? You'll get sick, or you could get frostbite, or-"

"Orihime, I'm alright. I'm not going to get sick, and I'm certainly not going to get frostbite. Running over here warmed me up."

"But Ichigo-"

"I'm alright Orihime, I promise. If it makes you feel any better, I'll asked for my jacket back when I start to get cold again."

"Well…if you say so. What did you want to talk about? You seemed troubled at school today."

Ichigo's face became solemn and Orihime immediately regretted bringing it up.

"Let's go sit down."

There was a long silence as the two of them sat on one of the many benches. Orihime swung her legs and wrung her hands together nervously while Ichigo sat stiffly.

"If you don't want to tell me Ichigo, that'll be alright," Orihime spoke up quietly.

"No, I need to. I just don't want to upset you."

If he was trying to avoid upsetting her, he'd already failed just by _mentioning _he didn't want to upset her. She put on her best fake smile.

"You could never upset me, Ichigo."

He wasn't fooled by her facade, "Orihime, I'm dropping out of school."

Her smile waivered, "What?"

"Orihime, I-"

"You can't!"

Ichigo was taken aback by her outburst, "Orihime…"

"You can't just drop out of school, not when you have so much potential. What about your dreams of becoming a doctor like your father? You always talked about that and now you're going to give it all up?"

"Some things have to take a back seat in life."

Orihime whispered something unintelligible and Ichigo raised a brow in response, "What was that?"

"Please don't leave me."

Ah, there it was. Ichigo knew Orihime was holding something back. Her eyes started to brim with tears as she looked up at him. Ichigo had a hard time not looking away, he hated to see her cry.

"Please don't leave me. I-I don't want you to go away. I can't keep an eye on you if you're not around. I won't be able to keep you safe. I won't be able to protect you, just like I couldn't protect Hichigo and the rest of your family."

"Orihime, nothing could have prevented that fire from happening. It was bound to, one way or another."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "The fire was an accident, Ichigo."

He shook his head. He was going to tell her everything that Kisuke told him. He figured that the information was confidential, but he didn't give a damn. Orihime had the right to know. She _deserved _to know the truth.

"Listen carefully, Orihime, because you need to know what really happened that night."

* * *

The fire crackled around Hichigo as he searched blindly through the smoke. He could hear someone faintly calling him. Whoever they were sounded frightened.

"Help me, Hichigo!"

The voice kept getting louder and louder.

"Hichigo…Hichigo…Hichigo!"

A silhouette came into view, it was a woman. He squinted into the smoke and fire and finally saw her face. She was trapped behind fallen beams and there was no way for her to escape.

"Orihime."

"Help me, Hichigo…"

He began trying to move the beams, getting his hands severely burned. He didn't give a fuck. He was going to get her out if it killed him.

The beams wouldn't budge. No matter how much muscle power or adrenaline he had, they refused to move. Tears began to sting his eyes. Whether it was from the smoke or because he was getting frustrated, he couldn't tell. Either way it annoyed him. He was Hichigo Kurosaki, damn it. He was supposed to be strong, and he was failing.

"I can't get you out, Orihime. I'm sorry…I'm sorry."

She smiled at him. It was a brave smile, but a stupid one. There was an opening big enough for her arm to reach through and she held out her hand to him. He grabbed it without hesitation. Neither of them cared if the flames were closing in, they weren't going to let go.

There was a splintering sounded from above them; Another beam fixing to fall. They didn't know where, but it was inevitable.

"Please don't leave me," She whispered.

"Never."

There was crack and as the two of them looked up, another beam began to fall.

Hichigo's eyes snapped open. He was covered in sweat and his heart was beating erratically.

"What the hell was that? Was that a dream, or a nightmare?"

He sat up in his bed, or what as suppose to be a bed. A cheap, eight inch plastic mattress on top of a metal table was all it was.

Nelliel showed him his new room the night before. They each had their own and they were as boring as a rock. The walls were white and there wasn't a window in sight. Hichigo wondered if they were underground. The only furniture other than the bed was a worn down couch and a rickety coffee table. Whoever furnished these rooms obviously didn't give a damn about they were doing. Or maybe that was the whole idea.

"Fuck. What the hell was that?"

He was still trying to figure out if he just had a dream, or a nightmare. Any dream about Orihime was obviously bliss, because it featured Orihime, but dreaming about her death was a nightmare straight from hell.

Thankfully, it was just a dream.

Orihime didn't die in the fire. She was safe and sound, probably mixing up another strange concoction that some poor soul would end up trying. Uryū and Ichigo would. Hell, even _he _would. They knew the risk that came with trying her strange foods and listening to her even stranger fantasies, because they'd done it before, and they'd do it again and again. They couldn't say no to Orihime. One look from her was all it took.

Hichigo smiled slightly as he remembered the first time he tried one of her weird creations. He was sure his tongue was going to shrivel up the second the 'whatever it was' touched his taste buds. But he did it anyway, for her.

His hand reached up to grasp the necklace around his neck, the one with the black square at the end. He panicked when all he felt was the damn collar. The necklace was gone. Probably lost in the fire.

"Tch, like I care. It was a stupid necklace anyways."

Hichigo was lying to himself. That necklace meant everything to him. It was Orihime's suggestion that they'd all get matching necklaces as a sign of their unbreakable bond. Hichigo thought it was a stupid idea at first. Little girls wore friendship necklaces, not people like Hichigo. Still, he agreed to it, for her. He'd do anything to make her happy. He got his necklace last, and she gave it to him personally.

How fitting it was for her to have a white charm and for him to have a black one. The two were as opposite as night and day, but Hichigo was sure that he couldn't live without her. He knew the way she felt about him. It was blatantly obvious. It was more than enough that they were friends, but having her _love_ him truly baffled him. She was perfect in every sense of the word, and he was Hichigo— punk ass delinquent.

He found her crush to be cute and amusing. He figured it would go away in time. But it didn't. He didn't want to see Orihime as more than a friend, but she was making that rather difficult for him.

Orihime was beautiful. There was no doubt about that.

Hichigo and Ichigo, and sometimes Uryū would beat fellows senseless if they even looked at her in a suggestive manner. They were like a family. She was their sister and they were the over protective brothers. Hichigo realized that he thought of her as more than a sister when Ichigo stated that she looked rather pretty one day. It was a simple compliment, one that Ichigo didn't mean any harm by, and yet Hichigo had punched him in the face because of it. Orihime was his and his alone. Any guy who even _thought _about her as more than a friend, would get their asses kicked by him, even Ichigo.

Still, he never acted out on his feelings. He never showed her how he really felt about her.

"You don't have to fight off every guy who looks at me, Hichigo. Not all of them are out to get me."

She told him that one day and he scoffed at the idea.

She was painfully naïve, "Be realistic, Orihime. Men are animals. When it all boils down to it they all want is two things: domination and sex. You, being the type of person that you are, you're the perfect target."

"I don't think that's true. You don't think that way…do you?"

_Of course, I do. Why do you think I'm doing this in the first place? To show those bastards that you're mine._

He didn't dare say that aloud.

"Hichigo?"

"Don't try and figure out the mind of a male, Orihime. You'll hurt yourself."

She never asked him again.

"What are you afraid of? If you love her so much then do something about it."

Ichigo had told him that one day.

"I'm not afraid of anything."

That was a lie. Hichigo knew that Ichigo felt the same way about Orihime as he did. If either of them got together with Orihime then their bond of friendship would be strained. The two of them ended up making a deal: She'd be off limits to them. No matter how much they each liked her they wouldn't act on it.

But now…now Hichigo had a different reason to be afraid. No thanks to Aizen and that Mayuri bastard. The effects of the serum were already obvious despite the fact that he had only been injected once, unlike the others who had been injected many times. He had already changed so much. He could feel a strange, unknown power coursing through him. His appearance made him look like ghost. White on white on white with a hint of black. What more were they going to do to him? What _thing _would they turn him into? Would he end up having a mask on his face and gaping hole in his body?

They were making him into a monster. Hichigo knew that. He didn't want Orihime to see what he was becoming. Hell would have to freeze over twice before that happened.

* * *

Orihime couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't _want _to believe what she was hearing. How could anyone deliberately attack the Kurosaki family? It was something she couldn't fathom. The Kurosaki's were some of the nicest people she had ever had the fortune of knowing. It didn't make sense.

"Do you understand now, Orihime? These people from Hōgyoku Corporation might have taken Hichigo. That's why I'm dropping out of school, to join the Detective Specialist. I'm going to find those bastards and I'm going to bring Hichigo back. It might take a while, but I promise we'll all be together again. Just wait and see."

She sniffled. "How do you know? How do you know he's even alive? What if this is all in vain?"

Ichigo furrowed his brows at her, "Since when did you become such a pessimist? He's alive Orihime, I know he is. I don't know _how _I know, but I know. I suppose it's a twin thing."

He reached up and wiped a tear away with his thumb, "There's no need to cry, Orihime. It's not like I'm going away forever. I'll still come and see you and Uryū as often as I can."

He reached into his pocket, "Close your eyes."

"O-ok."

Her eyes fluttered shut and she felt his arms wrap around her neck as he whispered in her ear, "No peaking."

She blushed. What on earth was he doing? Something cool tickled her neck. Was he putting a necklace on her?

"Ichigo?"

"Ok, open your eyes."

She felt for the necklaces, both her own white one and the mystery one. She gasped when she saw it. It was Hichigo's.

"Ichigo, I can't take this. You need this more than I do."

He shook his head in disagreement, "No, you deserve to have it. Hichigo has always had his own special place in your heart. I was thinking, if his necklace is _near _your heart, he'd be closer to you, figuratively speaking."

She blushed, he was right. But this was Hichigo they were talking about. If anyone deserved something of his it was Ichigo. "But Ichigo-"

"I don't need it, Orihime. I don't need a necklace to keep Hichigo close to me, figuratively or literally. We're twins. He's _always _with me."

On the other side of the park, a man in a white and green striped sat down on one of the benches. A black cat hopped in his lap and he began to stroke it affectionately. Ichigo raised a brow. Was that Kisuke?

"I have to go Orihime. Will you be alright walking home alone?" he asked, holding out his hand to help her stand.

"Yes."

"Alright. I'll be seeing you."

Orihime watched as he began to walk away. The wind whipped at her hair and was drying the tears slowly trickling down her face.

"I-Ichigo, wait!"

She ran towards him and collided with him just as he turned around to look back at her. He grunted at the impact.

"Orihi-"

She cut him off by placing her hands on his cheeks and her lips softly on his. Ichigo blinked in surprise. Did she just kiss him? But Orihime was in love with Hichigo, not him. He was very confused.

"Orihime, why did you do that?"

"You have to bring Hichigo back. You _have _to."

He hugged her tightly, "I already promised you that I would. Now go home, Orihime."

She slowly let go of him and backed away. He gave her one last smile before turning around. As he was walking away he turned to her once more, "When I find Hichigo, I'll be sure to relay your message."

"What message?"

He placed a finger to his lips and gave her a teasing wink before continuing on his way. She was still confused.

* * *

Hichigo was bored. Very, very bored. What the hell was he supposed to be doing anyways? Was he allowed to leave his room?

"Tch, like I give a damn if I'm allowed to leave or not. I'll break down my own door if I have to."

The door opened with ease. It wasn't locked at all.

"Hmm, maybe I am allowed to wander around this place."

Where he would wander, he still had no idea. He hadn't a clue how big this place was, and he didn't exactly pay attention to his surroundings when Nelliel led him to his room the night before. There was no telling where the halls would lead him.

He shrugged in indifference before walking in a random direction. "Whatever, like I give a fuck."

"What are you doing?"

Hichigo nearly jumped out of his skin and whirled around. He came face to face with another one of Aizen and Mayuri's creations. This man's skin was a pale grey, he had black fur on his forearms, waist, and legs, and his hands and feet were clawed. In the middle of his chest was a hole, and thick black streaks formed at the base of the hole and ended at his waist. He had large bat-like wings and a long whip like tail. On his head were a pair of bat-like ears and his black hair reached his waist. But the thing that unnerved Hichigo the most was his eyes. Hichigo thought his own new eyes were frightening, but this guy took the cake. His irises were a bright yellow and were surrounded by green sclera while thick, black "tear marks" streamed down his face. The man's eyes were cold, empty and emotionless, and they were creeping Hichigo out.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Ulquiorra Cifer. Why are you wandering around the corridors?"

Hichigo became defiant once more, "What's it to you?"

"If you have no business out here, then return to your room."

"What are you, the corridor police? My door was unlocked, so I thought I'd look around. Is that a crime?"

"There is nothing out here worth seeing. Now, go back."

Hichigo narrowed his eyes, "Are you threatening me?"

"It's alright, Ulquiorra. I was just about to come and get Shiro anyways to introduce him to your fellow Espada."

Hichigo stiffened before slowly turning around. Sōsuke Aizen was walking towards him like a pompous god. It made Hichigo want to punch him the face.

"I don't give a fuck about your _Espada. _I have no desire to meet them. And my name is _Hichigo_."

"Being so defiant this early, are we Shiro? We'll need to get rid of that brash attitude of yours."

"Stop calling me that!"

A strong current of shocks ran through his body and Hichigo dropped to his knees, glaring up at Aizen, "Damn you, you bastard."

"Ulquiorra, would you take Shiro to the Espada meeting room? I'll be there shortly."

"Yes, sir."

The Ulquiorra guy tossed Hichigo over his shoulder with ease, "What the hell do you think you're doing bat-boy? Put me down, damn it!"

They arrived in a room and he was tossed unceremoniously into a chair. Ulquiorra took a seat next to him. As Hichigo got up to leave, he was pushed him back down, "Sit down, boy."

"_Boy_?"

"Hey Ulquiorra, did you make yourself a new friend?"

Hichigo recognized that voice. It sounded like Nnoitra. His suspicions were confirmed when he turned around and saw him enter the room. He was followed by other people. Some of them he recognized, like Nelliel and Grimmjow, but he didn't know who the others were. They all took a seat around a table.

Nnoitra leaned over and grinned. "So, the new kid decided to join us, huh? Tell me, how do you like being seated with the mighty Espada? Do you feel honored? Intimidated? You should be."

Hichigo raised an eyebrow, "Why would I feel intimidated by a group of people who look like they belong in a freak circus?"

Nnoitra narrowed his eyes, "What was that?"

A grin spread across Hichigo's face, "I didn't stutter."

Nnoitra's eye twitched. Was this punk mocking him?

One of his four hands gripped a scythe tightly. Nelliel took note.

"Don't do anything rash, Nnoitra. You're pride is clouding your judgment. They're only petty insults, you shouldn't let them get to you."

"Shut the fuck up, Nelliel. Like I'd listen to orders from a weak woman."

Nelliel simply looked away from him though Hichigo sworn he saw her mouth the word "idiot."

"Nnoitra, control yourself," Aizen's smooth voice spoke as he entered the room. He sat down at the table and two other men that Hichigo didn't recognize flanked his side.

"Good evening my Espada. As you can see, we have a new comrade. Let's introduce ourselves to him while we drink tea. "

* * *

They were driving down the Highway, Kisuke and Ichigo. Ichigo didn't have a clue where they were going, but it was clear that it was a ways out of town. The ride was silent save for the black cat's purring. It was perched across Ichigo's shoulder and its tail was flicking under Ichigo's nose, much to his annoyance.

"Stupid cat, get off me," he grunted as he pried the cat off his shoulders. Kisuke looked offended.

"That wasn't nice. Yoruichi is a very smart cat."

Ichigo looked at him incredulously, "The Yoruichi you were telling me about the other day is a _cat_?"

"No, I'm the Yoruichi he was talking about. He just named the cat after me."

Ichigo jumped before turning around to see a woman sitting up in the back seat of the car. She had dark skin, purple hair and golden eyes. How had he not noticed her before? The thing that shocked Ichigo the most was the woman's complete lack of clothing.

"Did you have a nice nap, Yoruichi?" Kisuke smiled at her through the rear view mirror.

She smiled back and stretched, "Glorious."

Ichigo didn't know what to do. There was a naked woman in the back seat. A gorgeous, naked woman. Ichigo couldn't look away from a certain aspect of her body. He had never been in a situation like this before and his cheeks were heating up considerably.

"Would you like to touch them? I won't mind."

Ichigo's eyes looked quickly at Yoruichi's face. She was grinning in a teasing manner.

"Don't encourage him, Yoruichi. I wouldn't want to have to kill my newest recruit."

Yoruichi laughed, "Oh lighten up, Kisuke."

Ichigo had enough. Neither of them seemed bothered by her lack of clothing, "Would you please put some clothes on!"

The two them laughed as Yoruichi began to put on a pair of pants and a shirt, "Was that the first time you've seen a girl naked? I'm surprised. I would think someone as handsome as you would have seen a lot of naked woman by now."

Ichigo blushed some more, "Shut up."

"What about that girl you were with at the park, hmm?" Kisuke joined in on Yoruichi's teasing.

Ichigo looked appalled, "O-Orihime? Never. I've never seen her naked. Why would you even ask me something like that? She's like a sister to me."

"Really? The two of you seemed pretty chummy. Do you always kiss your 'sisters'?"

"_She_ kissed _me_, and I don't know why she did that."

"Did you tell her what you were going to be doing?"

"Yeah…"

Kisuke got a solemn look on his face. "This is bad. You shouldn't have done that Ichigo. We're going to have to kill your friend now."

"What?"

Kisuke grinned, "I'm joking, I'm joking. Geez, kids these days have no sense of humor."

Ichigo glared, "That wasn't funny in the slightest."

They pulled in front of an old, abandoned warehouse.

"Alright Ichigo, get out of the car."

Ichigo did as he was told and looked around, following Yoruichi and Kisuke inside, "What is this place?" he asked, looking around curiously.

Kisuke grinned, "It's an abandoned warehouse. Obviously."

A vein ticked in Ichigo's forehead.

"Everything you're asking in that head of yours will be answered, follow me." He opened a large, trap door. Ichigo peered down into it. He couldn't see or hear anything.

"What's down there?" he asked wearily.

"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" Yoruichi teased.

Another vein ticked in Ichigo's forehead.

"Relax, Ichigo. Nothing is going to kill you down here…maybe."

He was pushed inside and the trap door slammed shut before Ichigo had the chance to escape.

The long corridor they were walking down finally opened up to a large training ground. Ichigo was baffled by what he was seeing. He knew they were underground, but it looked like they were outside. There were rocks, cliffs, and even a fake blue sky.

"Welcome to our headquarters, Ichigo."

"_This _is your headquarters? This place is huge."

"This is only the training grounds. There are still the offices and labs."

"How did you find this place?"

Kisuke laughed, "Find it? I built this place."

"One person can't build something like this all on their own."

Kisuke shrugged, "I had a lot of free time."

He looked around the grounds. There wasn't a soul in sight, save for the three of them and the cat.

"Is there something-"

"Shh," Kisuke cut him off. His eyes slowly swept the area. Ichigo didn't know what to do. He was beginning to feel really awkward.

"Ichigo, raise your right hand. When I tell you to close it, close it, and quickly."

Ichigo did as he was told, "Ok? Why?"

"You'll see."

Ichigo felt rather silly with his hand up in the air. "Was there a point to this?"

"Close!"

Ichigo closed his hand quickly. His brow furrowed when he felt something inside. He didn't see anything coming towards him, so what could he have grabbed? He opened his hand to reveal a dart.

"What the hell?"

"Hiyori, that wasn't very nice. You shouldn't use your poison dart gun on new comrades."

"Tch, as if I care."

A person came out from behind one of the boulders. Ichigo gawked, it was a girl. A _girl. _She didn't look any older than thirteen.

"You have a _kid _working for you? Are you insane?" He exasperated at Kisuke.

This girl came charging at Ichigo and whacked him in the face with a flip flop whilst screaming, "What did you just call me?"

"Ow! You little runt, what the hell was that for?"

"Who are you calling a runt? I'm twenty-two years old, dumbass."

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows. There was no way that was true.

"What's wrong, dumbass, did I hit you too hard?"

"Stop calling me dumbass, snaggletooth!"

That was the first thing Ichigo noticed about her. She was the same height as his sisters and her blonde hair was pulled into pigtails with barrettes pinning her bangs back. Her brown eyes were glaring at him and he could have sworn he heard her snarl.

"Hiyori, why don't you gather the others? They have a new comrade to meet after all."

Hiyori cupped her hand against her mouth, "Hey guys, Kisuke wants you all out here!"

Kisuke smacked his hand against his forehead.

Ichigo glanced around as he saw people walking towards them. Were these his new comrades?

"Something the matter boss?" A man with white hair asked. He looked over at Ichigo? "Who's the kid?"

"Kid?"

Kisuke slapped Ichigo on the back, "Everyone, this is-" he stopped and looked around the group of people, "Where is Shinji?"

"I'll go get him," Hiyori sighed.

She disappeared behind a boulder. Not a minute later they could hear her shouting, "Get up, dumb ass!"

"Ouch! Hiyori, you little bitch," Another voice, a male, shouted back.

"Kisuke wants us to meet our new comrade, now come on."

"Damn it, Hiyori, let go of my ear, that hurts!"

Ichigo watched in amusement as Hiyori drug a man who was clearly taller than her over to the group. From what ichigo could tell, the man had blond hair that came to his chin.

"There, we're all here," Hiyori declared, letting go of the guy's ear.

"Stupid bitch," he mumbled while rubbing his ear. That earned him a slap in the face via flip flop.

"Alright, settle down everyone. I'd like you to meet your newest comrade."

All eyes turned on Ichigo and he was beginning to feel self conscious.

"Him? He still looks like a high school student," A girl with braided black hair and glasses said.

"He's…special."

"Special huh?" a man with long, wavy blond hair chimed in. "He looks pretty normal to me."

"I don't know, Rose, he has this punk aura to him," another man with an odd shaped black afro and sunglasses added.

"He looks suspiciously familiar, huh Love?" The glasses girl asked the man with the afro.

"You're right Lisa. I feel like I've seen him somewhere…" The white haired man added.

A girl with green hair tugged at the white man's shirt," Hey Kensei, his hair's an odd color, don't you think?"

The largest man Ichigo had ever seen spoke up, "You're hair is green Mashiro. I don't think you have a right to say his is odd."

"Well, your hair is _pink _Hachi," The afro guy-Love?- said.

"What do you think, Nemu? Does he look familiar to you?" The glasses girl-Lisa, wasn't it?- asked another girl with black braided hair.

"He does look familiar…" Nemu answered

"You got a name kid?" It was the man that Hiyori had pulled over to them. He heard her call him Shinji, right?

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

There was silence.

"What did you just say?" Shinji asked.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," he repeated.

The white haired man spoke up, "Kisuke, is this…"

"Isshin and Masaki's son? Yeah…"

"How did you find him, Kisuke? I though all of the Kurosaki's died." Kensei asked.

"So did I. Kuchiki and Abarai did mention something about us Detective specialists to him and he requested to see us. So I found him, and here we are."

"So you decided to join us to avenge your family, huh?" Lisa asked.

Ichigo shrugged, "Pretty much. My ultimate goal is to find my brother, and then he and I will show Aizen that messing with the Kurosaki family was the biggest mistake of his life."

"Your brother? Rose asked.

Yoruichi spoke up, "Ichigo thinks his brother Hichigo is still alive."

"I don't think, I know. He's out there somewhere."

"Since Hichigo wasn't found at the crime scene, it was safe to assume he's dead. However, because the fire was caused by Hōgyoku Corporation…"

Hiyori looked at Urahara in shock "Are you saying that Aizen kidnapped him?"

"It's a possibility."

"If that's the case then there's no telling what Sōsuke Aizen and Mayuri Kurotsuchi turned him into," Hachi spoke up.

"I don't care if Hichigo looks like a monster now. He's my brother and that's all that matters to me."

"So everyone, are we going to help him out?" Kisuke asked.

They all shrugged in unison, Shinji spoke, " We'll give him a shot."

Kisuke clapped his hands together, "Great! Now Ichigo, I know you've been hearing their names off and on, but let me introduce everyone to you officially. This is Yoruichi Shihōin: My second in command."

Yoruichi grinned enthusiastically, "If you ask politely, I'll let you see me naked again."

Kisuke snorted at Ichigo's blushing face before continuing on, "Shinji Hirako and Hiyori Sarugaki are my senior field agents. If Yoruichi and I aren't around, then they're in charge."

Hiyori poked Ichigo in the chest, "That's right. And just because you're Isshin and Masaki's son, doesn't mean I'm going to be nice, you got that?"

Shinji flicked her in the cheek, "Shut up, Hiyori."

Kisuke continued on, "My stealth force is made up of Lisa Yadōmaru and Mashiro Kuna."

"You're welcome to borrow my erotic Manga," Lisa said. Ichigo blushed once more.

Mashiro, who also looked as old as his sisters, gave a pout, "This isn't fair, now I'm not the baby of the group anymore."

"Kensei Muguruma is my weapons specialist."

Ichigo found Kensei, the man with the white hair, to be rather intimidating. He reminded him of a drill sergeant.

"Love Aikawa and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi are my bomb technicians."

"Call me Rose, if you will," Rōjūrō bowed.

"Rose can be dramatic sometimes so ignore him when he begins acting that way," Love commented.

"Last but not least, are my forensic scientists, Hachigen Ushōda and Nemu Kurotsuchi."

Ichigo looked surprised, "Kurotsuchi?"

Nemu bowed, "There's no need to feel threatened. I do not agree with my father's way of living."

"Ichigo, there's something else you should know."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"I told you that Aizen experimented on eight detective specialist, did I not?"

"Yes."

"Excluding myself, Yoruichi, and Nemu, these are those same people."

* * *

Orihime paced back and forth in her apartment. Why did she do that? Why did she kiss Ichigo? She was in love with Hichigo, wasn't she? Did she kiss him _because _he looked like Hichigo?

"His lips were so soft though…" she said as she lay down to go to bed.

Orihime ended up falling asleep with her hand grasping Hichigo's necklace and her face buried in Ichigo's jacket.

* * *

Author's note:

Greetings readers!

This chapter was much longer than the previous ones. Does that make you guys happy?

Hichigo's feelings for Orihime are revealed. Squee! XD

Next Time: Hichigo is officially introduced to the Espada and Ichigo begins his training.

Reviews are always welcome!

Take care and God bless,

SingingButterflyRose


	6. Chapter 6

Bleach (c) Tite Kubo. I am just a loyal, borderline obsessed fan.

Story idea by me.

* * *

Aizen scanned the table, "Does everyone have their tea? Good, let us begin with the introductions."

Hichigo rolled his eyes. He didn't want to be introduced to anyone. He didn't give a fuck about anyone here.

It didn't go unnoticed by Aizen, "You should be more respectful to your comrades, Shiro."

"My name is _Hichigo. _Say it with me, Hi-chi-go. It really isn't that difficult of a name."

Aizen merely smiled and Hichigo hated it. That smile was so condescending, and arrogant.

"Coyote Starrk is our Primera Espada. He's our top gunman."

Hichigo looked at the end of the table. _Well doesn't he seem like a barrel full of monkeys…_

Thankfully, this Coyote guy seemed to look more human than the people he had met previously. He had shoulder length, wavy brown hair and a goatee. His grey eyes were giving off an "I'm tired" aura and Hichigo wouldn't be surprised if the guy fell asleep. Like all the other strange beings that he had met, this guy also had a hole—his being on his chest—and a mask on his face that resembled an eye patch. He was wearing the generic black and white outfit as everyone else with a few alterations: His white jacket, which was opened at the chest, had grey fur along the collar— that connected to a furry cape—and forearms. His black pants also had grey fur along the shin and calf area. The way he was sitting, Hichigo could see two gun holsters on each hip.

"A gunman huh? Big fucking whoop. Like I'd give a damn about someone as cowardly as a-"

Hichigo was interrupted as a loud shot was fired and a blue orb flew past his head. He didn't know what it was, but it certainly wasn't a bullet.

He sent a glare at Starrk, "What the hell was that?"

"Listen kid, I know you've got a lot of pent up rage right now, but you're loud, and I'm tired. So shut up, would ya?"

Hichigo held his tongue. He didn't know what Starrk had fired at him, but he didn't want it to happen again.

Aizen continued with his introductions, "Our Segunda is Baraggan Louisenbairn. He is the oldest Espada."

_No shit, Sherlock._

It was obvious this Baraggan guy was the oldest in the room. He looked like a stern grandpa. His hair was grey, he had thick eyebrows, and a bushy mustache. The mask on his face resembled a crown and although Hichigo couldn't see the hole, he assumed it was probably on his chest, which seemed to be the most common place. The man looked like a grumpy, war veteran, evident because of the scar running down his right eye. His black and white outfit was lined with black fur along the collar and he had short sleeves compared to the others.

"So tell me, old man. What sort of 'special' thing can you do?"

"Old man? You cocky, little brat. My powers will forever put whatever you have brewing inside you to shame. I am a time lord. I age things at a rapid rate. In that since, I am like a god. You're a fool for believing my 'age' holds no power against you."

"You sure an arrogant one, aren't you? So you age things, huh? Doesn't seem all that threatening."

Baraggan didn't respond, he merely lifting his hands, which were hidden under the table, and placed them on the surface. If Hichigo had been drinking his tea, he would have spewed it everywhere. The man's forearms and hands were bone. There wasn't a trace of skin or muscle on them, just bones.

Aizen spoke from across the table, "Baraggan, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't disintegrate my table."

There was a pause before Baraggan lifted his hands, "Of course, sir."

Hichigo stared, unblinking at the spot Baraggan's hands were. The table _had _begun to disintegrate. In fact, it looked like it was rotting. Wasn't this table marble?

Aizen gave Hichigo that same, condescending smile, "Shall I go on, Shiro?"

Hichigo replied with a withering glare, "I think you should go fuck yourself with an egg beater."

"Shiro, I will not tolerate any more of your crude outbursts. I'll have to severely punish you if you do it again."

He flashed a challenging smirk, "I can't wait."

Aizen continued on, much to Hichigo's annoyance.

"There are two Trecero Espada… Tres Espada A, Tier Harribel, and Tres Espada B, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. They're sisters."

Hichigo glanced back and forth between the two of them. He had already met Nelliel, and she didn't look anything like Tier. Tier's skin was tan compared to Nelliel's paler tone. Her hair was a bright yellow in a messy style. Underneath, and off to the side of her green eyes, were a pair of blue lightning bolts. She too had the same white and black outfit, but she took hers to a completely different level. Her breasts were barely covered by a hard looking, white material and her shoulders had thick, blunt spikes. Her midriff was exposed, save for a thin, spine-like line running down the center. She had on a short black skirt that was covered with the same hard material that was on her breast. It looked like bones. She had on white boots that went past her knees and white gloves that extended to her elbows. Her neck also had a thick, white collar.

Either she had no qualms in showing off her body, or it was a requirement for females to dress this way for the enjoyment of the males. Hichigo assumed it was the latter. Nelliel wasn't exposing herself like Tier was, but her outfit was so tight fitting that it left little to the imagination, even if she did look like a centaur, Hichigo was disgusted by it.

"You don't look like sisters to me."

"We're step sisters."

It was Tier who spoke. Her voice was cold and aloof. It wasn't anything like Nelliel's who had a little bit of brightness in her tone.

"So what sort of "special ability" do you two have? Are you some sort of Horse and Rider duo? An Amazon princess and her noble steed? Or are the two of you just here for the sole purpose of giving the dominant male population something to masturbate to?"

Tier shot Hichigo a chilling glare and Nelliel looked appalled, "Hichigo, that was rude."

"It's the truth though, isn't it?"

Neither of them responded.

"_Isn't it?"_

"I'm sure Lord Aizen has a very good reason for giving us these clothes…"

"I'm sure he does, Nelliel," He sent a glare towards Aizen, "I'm sure he does."

Aizen continued to go down the list. The Cuatro Espada was Ulquiorra Cifer. Hichigo didn't think much of him. He screamed indifference. Or rather _didn't_ scream it.

Nnoitra Gilga, whom Hichigo dubbed 'The Bug Man', was the Quinto Espada. Hichigo hated him. He was a womanizing ass and chauvinistic. Hichigo hated people like that. He couldn't stand men who looked at females as if they were pieces of meat. He had younger sisters after all.

Sexta Espada was 'Kitty Boy' Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Hichigo wasn't really sure what to think of him, but there was a destructive look in his eyes. It was as if he would snap and start beating everyone in the room for sheer enjoyment.

The Septima Espada was Zommari Rureaux. He was a dark skinned individual with bony spikes on his bald head. He also had on a pair of earrings and a bony necklace. His eyes were deep set and golden yellow. His lower body wasn't visible to Hichigo, but Hichigo wasn't sure he even wanted to know what the rest of him looked like if it was as strange as everyone else.

The Octava Espada looked like a mad scientist and according to Aizen, worked in the lab. Szayel Aporro Granz was his name. He was seated right next to Hichigo—to Hichigo's dismay—so his entire appearance was visible. His lower half was covered in purple tentacles that barely exposed his feet and overlaid by a white skirt thing. His torso was covered grey material and long white sleeves that had four purple droplets on each one. His hands were white and his fingers were purple. Around his head was an odd head piece that looked like a piece of bone that extended over his ears and a smaller portion on his brow line. His eyes were also orange, like Mayuri's, and his left eye had purple markings around it while the right was covered by his pink hair. On his back, there were four long, grey protrusions that had red droplets hanging from them.

"I see you're captivated by my appearance. Of course, it's natural, this is what perfection looks like."

Hichigo gave a snort, "Perfection? You look like the love child between a butterfly and an anemone."

There were a few snickers across the table, but they didn't last long after what Szayel said.

"You do realize that I have full access to all the labs here? I can experiment on you any time I want. And that serum that was injected into you? I have access to that too. Don't under estimate me."

The Noveno Espada was Aaroniero Arruruerie. His face was covered by an elongated white mask. Hichigo was glad about this though, because he could have sworn he heard bubbling sounds come from behind there. He could have also sworn he heard _two _voices from behind the mask.

The Decimo and final Espada was Yammy Llargo. The man Hichigo met when he first got to wherever this was. The guy was huge, but Hichigo could tell he wasn't all that bright. Like the majority of the other Espada, he had an air of arrogance to him.

"These are now your brothers and sisters, Shiro. Once you finish your training, you will be our Cero Espada."

The other Espada looked at Aizen in shock. Apparently, being ranked the Cero Espada was quite the honor. Hichigo however, had an indifferent look on his face. He didn't give a fuck about being the Cero Espada.

"Sorry to disappoint you, _Lord Aizen, _but I have no intention or desire to become your Cero Espada."

"You don't have a choice."

Hichigo got up from the table and began to walk away.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving, obviously. My business here is finished, so I don't see a point in staying."

"Sit down, Shiro."

Hichigo ignored the command.

"Did you not hear me? I said to _sit down."_

Once again, Hichigo felt that unbearable pain course through him. It made his entire body go numb and his knees buckled. He panted heavily and sent a glare up at Aizen," You… fucking bastard!"

"Szayel. Why don't you do the honor of injecting him with more of his special serum? I have it right here with me."

Szayel's grin turned demonic as Aizen handed a syringe over that was filled with a thick, black liquid, "It would be an honor and a pleasure, sir."

"Get the hell away from me, you tentacle _freak…_" Hichigo growled.

Szayel laughed. "Resistance is vain, Shiro. Now, be a good little test subject and hold still."

"I have to warn you, Szayel, some of the effects might take place immediately. Keep your guard up."

"Understood, sir."

If Hichigo had any feeling left in his arms, he would have started swinging, anything to get away. Szayel held him down with one of his twisting tentacles and injected the serum.

It fucking _hurt_, burning through his veins, scorching even hotter than the flames that took his family. It was so much worse than the electric shocks. He began thrashing under Szayel's weight, screams escaping his lips. His blood was boiling and he felt like his muscles were being pulled, ripped and stretched. What the hell was happening? He hadn't had to feel the pain the first time, because he had been unconscious and he wondered how long it would last.

Slowly, the burning pain subsided into a dull ache, and Hichigo stopped thrashing. He fought for breath, covered in sweat.

Szayel released the pressure of his tentacle and walked back to his seat, leaving Hichigo on the floor. Every breath that he took sounded strange, but he couldn't exactly point out why.

The meeting went on while Hichigo lay on the floor. The dull ache was still there, but he was slowly regaining a sense of feeling back in his limbs and he managed, albeit painfully, to get on his hands and knees.

"Lord Aizen, when are we going to burn another house down?" Nnoitra asked with freakish glee.

"Patience, Nnoitra. We only have two houses left. We'll get to them in due time."

Nnoitra continued to blab on, "Personally, I think the most recent house was the best."

The other Espada shot him a look. The last house they burned down was Hichigo's. They knew he was trying to rile him up. Ever since Hichigo had arrived, Nnoitra wanted to get a piece of him.

"Hey, Shiro, I saw you had a couple of sisters. How old were they?"

Hichigo raised his head enough to glare at him and Nnoitra laughed, "Oh, I see. Since you're giving me that look, that must mean they were old enough for boys to notice them. They still looked pretty young though. I'm going to take a wild guess and say they were around thirteen. Am I correct?"

When Hichigo didn't answer Nnoitra cackled once more, "So that's a yes? It's a shame they died and you didn't. I always liked the younger ones. They're so _innocent_. You know what I mean?"

"Nnoitra, stop it. You've said enough," Nelliel scolded.

He waved her off, "The blonde one seemed especially _nice. _She'd probably be easily manipulated if you catch my drift—"

Nnoitra didn't even know what hit him. One minute, he was laughing his head off and the next, he was flying across the ground. Hichigo watched him with murderous intent. Nnoitra grinned gleefully.

"Ah, so you _can _fight, eh? This should be fun."

Hichigo only had one thing on his mind: _Kill_. It was as if his brain went onto autopilot. He felt a raw power welling up inside him, and it felt good.

Nnoitra rolled to his feet and charged at him with scythe in hand, swinging it down on Hichigo. He caught the blade in his hand, slicing his palm before wrenching Nnoitra's weapon out of his grip, tossing it aside. Nnoitra looked dumbfounded for a moment before smirking.

"Ha, think you've got the upper hand just because you got rid of my weapon? I can beat you to shreds with my own bare hands! You're _nothing_ compared to me, noth-"

Hichigo punched him in the gut, forcing him to the ground with a thud. He dropped on top of him, digging his knee into an accommodating diaphragm while his hands wrapped around Nnoitra's throat and he squeezed.

Nnoitra thrashed under him, trying to escape but Hichigo didn't release. A warped grin started to spread across his features. This felt good. All of his pent up anger and frustration finally being let loose and who better to take it out on than a bug? Hichigo took in the sight of Nnoitra's face slowing turning an unhealthy shade of blue. He liked the feel of Nnoitra thrashing helpless under him. A predator conquering his prey. It excited him, gave him goose bumps. He started to chuckle a little bit. It was a sound he hadn't heard before. His own voice was watery, almost hollow.

Footsteps approached him, but he paid them no heed, "That is enough. I think he gets the point. If you do that any longer, you'll kill him."

He didn't know who was speaking to him and he ignored their request. He _wanted_ to kill.

"It's all right Kaname. Nnoitra's strong enough to find a way out. He's not my Quinto Espada for nothing. Besides, this is good exercise for Shiro. Release your anger."

It was as if a gear had been snapped back into place. "Release your anger" is what Aizen had told him to do.

Hichigo's grip on Nnoitra relaxed. What the hell was he doing? Why had he been that gleeful? He didn't mind beating up a few punks here and there in the school yard, but not once did he want to kill someone. And now here he was doing exactly that and _enjoying _it? It had already begun. They really were turning him into a monster. He felt sick. He couldn't move.

He felt a shove from under him before being kicked in the gut. Nnoitra stood over him, breathing heavily, "You're a fool for stopping when you did. Just look at you now. You can't even bring yourself to move after realizing what you can do."

He kicked him in the gut again, "You're so pathetic. Do you really frighten yourself that much? Ha! You'll never win if you're scared of what you are.

Another kick to the gut, "Get mad."

Another, "Get mad, I said!"

"That's enough, Nnoitra," Aizen spoke up. He turned to the man on his right, "Gin, I believe it's time to start Shiro's training."

The man called Gin grinned, "Of course sir, I'll begin right away."

"Very good. The rest of you may leave."

The Espada filed out. Nelliel turned back around to look at Hichigo, a worried expression on her face before exiting the room.

* * *

"Y-you're the ones he experimented on?"

"It's rude to point and stare with your mouth open, Ichigo." Kisuke informed him.

"But I thought you said The Commander of the police force ordered for their execution?"

"He did. I had to pull a lot of strings for him to agree to this. Even now, the agreement is still strained. There are few and far between on the other police branches that trust them."

"But why? They did nothing wrong."

"It doesn't matter," Kensei replied, "We're still a danger to everyone around us."

Ichigo glanced them over, "You don't look so dangerous to me."

"We _change_ in certain situations. That's the best way I can explain it." Shinji replied.

"Change? How?"

"You'll find out in due time," Urahara answered, "right now we need to begin your training. Ichigo, are you willing to be away from civilization life for four years? You won't be able to contact anyone during that time. You will be here, day in and day out, until I say you are ready to take on the world."

Ichigo blinked at him stupidly, "Four years? Did you just say _four years?_"

"I did. It takes four full years to train to become a Detective Specialist."

"I can't wait that long!" Ichigo shouted, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "I have to find Hichigo _now_. There's no telling what will have happened to him in four years."

"It's either four years or we're not helping you at all. If your brother was really taken by the Hōgyoku Corporation then you're dealing with a completely different animal now. This isn't like beating up a couple of guys in the school yard for messing with you. These guys _run _the school yard. If you're not for them, you're against them. You can't expect to run out into enemy territory and not get shot."

"I can't contact _anyone?_" Ichigo had a desperate look on his face.

"I'm sorry but that's the rules. I will however give you this one night to say your goodbyes and sort things out, but this night only. Do you understand?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Good. Now follow me. I have much to show you."

* * *

Uryū waited outside his house. He was annoyed. _Very _annoyed. Just what the hell did Ichigo want to talk to him about at three in the morning? Uryū knew that Ichigo went to train, or whatever, with those Detective Specialist, but couldn't Ichigo talk to him when the sun was up? Or was the message that important that it couldn't wait?

Crunching gravel came from his left and he looked to see Ichigo walking towards him.

"You're late," he said, crossing his arms.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head, "Sorry…"

"What's so important that I had to meet you at this hour? Couldn't you just talk to me over the phone?"

"No, I had to do it in person. I need to give you something."

"And you couldn't have done this at a more decent hour?"

"They told me I had tonight only to take care of business."

Uryū frowned, "What do you mean 'take care of business'? What's going on, Ichigo?"

"Urahara told me that I'll be gone for four years. During that time, I won't be able to contact anyone. I'll be closed off from the outside world."

Uryū adjusted his glasses, "I see. Does Orihime know about this?"

Ichigo hesitated before pulling a sealed letter from his pocket, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about…"

"No."

Ichigo blinked in shock at his friend's bluntness, "Uryū, I'm begging you, _please._"

"Why can't you do it yourself? You're telling me just fine. Why can't you just talk to Orihime?"

"You know how Orihime is…"

"The Orihime I know is understanding and trusting. Which Orihime are you talking about?"

"It'll lessen the blow if she reads it in a letter…"

"Do you really believe that? What's the real reason, Ichigo? I know you're not giving me a full explanation."

Ichigo ran his fingers through his hair. Uryū was one of his close friends, but he hated how he could see right through him. Ichigo might as well have been transparent.

"Ichigo?"

"I don't want to see her cry."

Uryū looked at him as if he was stupid, "And you think I do?

"You can always handle it better than Hichigo or I. You're…you're more stable than we are during those moments. You always made sure to take her feelings into account first. The only thing Hichigo and I would do was beat up the person that made her cry."

"You're the one that's going to make her cry, Ichigo."

"Which is why I've been beating myself up all day, believe me."

Uryū squinted. When he looked closer, Ichigo did look rather roughed up, "What did you do, have a fight with your own shadow?"

Ichigo gave an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his head, "I started training today. I pissed off one of my comrades, because I thought her exercise was stupid and she got mad."

Uryū couldn't suppress his eye roll, "So you're already causing problems, huh? That doesn't surprise me."

"Shut the hell up, Uryū. If you saw the machine she put me on, you would have thought it was stupid too. Besides, she's a snaggletooth bitch anyways."

"Who exactly do you work with?"

Ichigo merely shrugged, "I'm not obligated to say."

A black cat started rubbing against Ichigo's legs and he knew his time was ending. He placed the letter in Uryū's hand, "Please, just…give this to her."

Uryū pursed his lips, but pocketed the letter nonetheless.

The two friends stood there awkwardly, looking anywhere but at each other and unsure of what to do. Were they supposed to hug? Or shake each other's hands? They were best friends, sure, but neither one of them were very touchy feely. So what's a person to do when they won't see their friend for four years?

Ichigo shuffled his feet, "Well, I guess I'll see you later or something…"

Uryū stood there for a moment before jabbing his fist into Ichigo's jaw. Ichigo stumbled back a bit, a bewildered expression on his face.

"What the fuck was that about?"

"Like you said, you and Hichigo always beat up the person who made Orihime cry. I thought I'd give it a shot for a change."

Ichigo smirked, "Then you should have hit me harder. Later, Uryū."

As he walked away, Uryū spoke quietly to himself, "You'd better come back, Ichigo. Both you and Hichigo better come back."

* * *

Orihime stood dumbfounded in her living room, still clothed in her pajamas, the unopened letter in her hand. Uryū was there too, sitting on her couch with his head in his hands. He had gone to Orihime's not long after Ichigo had left, figuring it would be best if he didn't wait.

"I don't understand. Why did Ichigo want to give this to me? Why couldn't _he _just give it to me?"

"Everything you want to know is in there."

"Did you read it, Uryū?"

He shook his head, "I'm just the messenger, but I have a pretty good idea about what it says."

Orihime bit her lip, "I don't know if I want to read this. I- I have a bad feeling about what's inside."

"You might not want to, but you need to, Orihime."

She took a breath, "Well, here it goes."

_Hey Orihime, it's Ichigo, though you probably already knew that._

_I'm not really sure how to put this without making you upset, so I'll just come out and say it._

_I'm not coming back. At least, not for another four years. My new comrades say that training takes four years, and then I can become an official Detective Specialist. During that time, I'm going to be cut off from the outside world and from you._

_I don't like it, but I have no say. You have every right to be upset with me. I told you I wasn't going to leave, but I am._

_But I promise, I'll come back. I'll come back and I'll bring Hichigo with me._

_When you need something, ask Ury__ū__. He'll be able to help more than I ever could._

_Make some new friends while I'm away. Perhaps, they'll be better friends than I was._

_Take care._

The letter fell from Orihime's hands. Her eyes were downcast and she was quiet.

Uryū got up and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Orihime, are you alright?"

She shrugged off his hand and bolted out the door. Uryū called after her, but to no avail. She kept running. She ran, and ran, and ran. Tears were beginning to cloud her vision, but she continued to run. She didn't have a clue where she was going, but she had to get away. She didn't even know _what_ she was running from. Maybe the truth.

Orihime ran until her legs buckled underneath her and she collapsed in the road. There wasn't another soul insight. It was still a few hours before the sun came up. She didn't have a clue where she was, but as she looked around, she got a good idea.

The house was right in front of her, plain as day. _Their _house, still damaged from the fire. It looked awful. The windows were busted, the roof was falling apart, the outside was blackened with ash, and the beams were bent and splintered. She didn't know why it hadn't been taken down by the city. Maybe Ichigo requested it not to be destroyed. Maybe it was being used as a memorial. It wouldn't surprise Orihime, Isshin and Masaki were very well known throughout town, and loved by most everyone they came across.

Orihime laughed bitterly at the irony of it all. She wanted to scold her feet for bringing her all the way there. She began shouting towards the house,

"You two had better come back. I will never forgive either of you if you don't come back. Promise me… you'll come back."

She knew her shouting was in vain. They couldn't hear her. But she did it anyways, hoping that maybe, just maybe, wherever the two of them were, they were thinking the same thing.

* * *

In two different locations the twins were bloodied and battered. Sweat dripped off them and their breathing was hard and labored. But determination was in their eyes. Despite not knowing where the other was, the two of them had the same thought in mind.

Finding each other, and making an oath that they would return…for her.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay. This chapter was being rather difficult for me, but hopefully it satisfies you all :)

I have another apology, last time I said Ichigo would begin his training in this chapter, obviously that isn't the case *begs for forgiveness* I promise the next chapter will have _some _form of training for both Ichigo and Hichigo. If it doesn't, you have permission to print out a copy of this story and throw tomatoes at it in anger...or something XD

Reviews are lovely as always

Stay tuned!

Take care and God bless,

SingingButterflyRose

P.S I have a new IchiHime fic up called "Acceptance" if anyone is interested in checking it out :)


	7. Chapter 7

Bleach (c) Tite Kubo. I am just a loyal, borderline obsessed fan

Story idea by me

* * *

A fox, that's what he was.

That was the best way Hichigo could describe Gin Ichimaru, the man whom Aizen put in charge to train him. He always had a wide mocking smile, and his eyes were always in slits. Hichigo could never tell whether or not he was looking at him. Not to mention the way his silver hair fell into his eyes, obscuring them. He was tall and lanky and seemed to mock with every movement. Hichigo didn't know much about the guy, but from the way he looked, he could tell he was a rather creepy fellow. He pissed him off to no end, and if he didn't know any better, Hichigo would have thought he was doing it on purpose.

Gin took another swipe at him, catching Hichigo across the ear.

He was fast. Hichigo had no problem out maneuvering punks in the school yard, but this guy was another story entirely. Hichigo was always on the defensive, and even then it seemed pointless to keep his fist up because he was going to get hit anyways. Gin _always _found an opening.

"Come now, Shiro, you're boring me. Surely, you can do better than that."

Hichigo growled, "That's not my name, damn it. And I don't _want _to do this."

Gin laughed, "You don't have a choice. You belong to Aizen now, and he wants you to be his Cero Espada. Whatever Aizen wants, Aizen gets."

Gin took another swing. His eyes widened slightly before going back to their usual slits. Hichigo had caught his fist in his hand and was glaring at him from the corner of his eyes.

"I don't fucking belong to anyone."

"Interesting. Very interesting."

Hichigo stepped away from Gin and raised an eyebrow, "What the hell are you blabbing about now?"

"It seems you fight best when you're not thinking rationally."

"…What?"

"When you were beating the shit out of Nnoitra earlier, what was going through your mind?"

"I wanted him dead. I didn't even know what I was doing to him. It was like I was on auto pilot. All I know is that I wanted to see his blood on my hands."

"And just now when I said you belonged to Aizen. How did you feel?"

Hichigo looked at Gin, "I felt the same way."

Gin's smile grew, "Exactly."

"I still don't understand."

"It's called instinct, my friend. _Instinct. _When instinct over takes you, all you think about is crushing those that stand in your way. You say you want to escape this place. You can't do that with reason and logic. If you want to get out as much as you say you do, then you have to let your instinct guide you."

"Instinct."

The word seemed to roll off Hichigo's tongue, as if he wore born to say it. He repeated over and over again in his head. Instinct…Instinct…Instinct. He liked the sound of the word. A grin spread across his face.

"_Instinct." _

Gin eyed Hichigo suspiciously. He had gotten quiet. Too quiet. Was he planning something?

Gin didn't even have time to react. One moment he was on his feet, the next he was pinned on the ground. Hichigo loomed over him, an insane grin on his face and he chuckled.

"Very good, Shiro. You're learning rather quickly."

Hichigo blinked in surprise, released Gin from his grasp and got up quickly.

He left the room without looking back.

Gin's smile fell from his face as soon as the door closed. This boy was learning fast. Too fast. Aizen had better hope he knew what he was getting himself into.

* * *

"98, 99, 100. How are you feeling, now, dumbass."

"I'd feel fine if your fat ass wasn't lounging on my back, snaggletooth."

Hiyori slapped him across the face with her flip flop, "Just for that comment you get to do 100 more."

Ichigo swore under his breath before beginning another round of pushups. He thought the entire thing was stupid. How did working out count as training anyways? Didn't detectives walk around with a magnifying glass and a pipe, or something?

"Is there any point in this physical labor?" he wheezed, "When am I going to learn how to do things you guys do?"

"We've already told you, Ichigo, training takes four years. Everyone starts on the bottom rail. We're going to beef you up first, then work on your endurance," Shinji replied.

Ichigo proceeded to stand up, causing Hiyori to roll of his back. She shouted a stream of curses at him but he just waved her off.

"Beef me up? Unless it's gone unnoticed by you lot, I'm already "beefed up". What are you going to do, turn me into a body builder?"

"We're not denying that you already have strength, Ichigo. However, these guys you're going to be dealing with, they're something else entirely. Who knows what sorts of things Aizen and Mayuri have created. You're going to have to be as strong as them, as fast as them, and as smart as them if you ever want to defeat them."

"And don't think of it as getting 'beefed up', think of it as…_toning_," Kensei added.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, "Toning?"

The others nodded and Ichigo shrugged, "Whatever."

As he began his round again, with Hiyori perched on his back, Yoruichi turned to Urahara,

"Do you really think he'll be on par with them by the time he's done training? He's just a boy, a _human _boy. The things he's going to face, who knows _what _they are. "

"We can only hope for the best, Yoruichi."

* * *

Orihime woke up that morning with her hair a ratty mess and her eyes red and puffy.

Two days had gone by since she'd read Ichigo's letter and she had spent those nights crying.

"I'm such a pathetic mess."

She grasped the two necklaces she wore. Hers and Hichigo's. Ebony and Ivory. Night and Day. An obvious sign of their differences.

Around her shoulders was Ichigo's jacket. It was warm, and it enveloped her, as if it were protecting her from harm. Just like Ichigo.

Orihime decided she was in quite the pickle. She had feelings for Hichigo from the very beginning, but these feelings for Ichigo seemed to pop out of nowhere, and proceeded to whack her across the face. It was too much to handle for a girl who wore her heart on her sleeve.

It was also a distant dream, for _both _of them. Orihime knew she was the equivalent to Yuzu and Karin in their eyes. She wasn't in the "friend-zone". She had been put in the "sister-zone", which was ten times worse.

She knew she should be grateful for being their friend in general. She knew that being their friend _should_ have been more than enough.

But it wasn't.

She sighed, "Yes, a pathetic mess indeed."

She clapped her hands together, "Well, time to put on a smile and get ready. After all, you have school today."

Water ran down her body as steam rose up around her.

"_Yes. Put on your smile, Orihime. Put on your smile and become the girl everyone expects to see. The girl who's always bright. The girl who's always happy. The girl who doesn't have a problem in the world. The girl who __**always **__smiles."_

* * *

"Good morning, Orihime!"

Chizuru Honshō, the resident lesbian at Karakura High had her advances blocked by Uryū. She scowled at him in annoyance.

"Please give it a rest, Chizuru."

"Humph! Orihime doesn't mind. Right, Orihime?"

Orihime didn't answer as she looked out the window and watched the clouds.

Chizuru snapped her fingers, "Hello? Earth to Orihime."

Orihime blinked rapidly, "Huh? What?"

"Geez, what's with you this morning? Is everything alright?"

Orihime put on a bright smile, "Oh, everything is fine. I stayed up late last night finishing school work, so I'm a little tired is all. Everything's alright though, I promise!"

Chizuru frowned, "Orihime you really shouldn't push yourself too hard. It worries me."

"There's no need to worry, Chizuru."

"Still…" Chizuru looked around the room, "Hey, where is Ichigo this morning?"

Uryū saw panic flicker in Orihime's eyes, "_Damn It, Chizuru. Why'd you have to bring him up?"_

"Ichigo decided to go backpacking in Europe," he said aloud.

Chizuru raised an eyebrow, "Backpacking?"

"Yes, he wanted to get away for a while. I don't blame him, really," Orihime replied, grateful that Uryū had thought of the white lie so quickly.

"This is really out of the blue. He could have at least said goodbye to everyone. He is going to write to the two of you, isn't he? You are his best friends after all."

"Yes, he'll write," Orihime smiled.

"And he'll send pictures, won't he?"

Uryū smirked, "I highly doubt it. Ichigo's not one to take pictures. Besides, knowing him he probably doesn't know how to work a camera in the first place."

Orihime couldn't help but laugh lightly. It was probably true.

The spark in her eyes didn't last very long, and Uryū took notice.

"_Those two owe me big time."_

"Orihime," he said, "let's go."

She scrunched her nose at him, "Go? Go where? Class is about to start."

"Trust me," he said, holding out his hand.

When she didn't immediately take it, Uryū sighed and grabbed it himself, pulling her out of the classroom.

"Uryū, what are you doing? Class is about to start, we'll get in trouble."

"I know."

Now, Orihime was more confused. She never imagined Uryū skipping class, and yet here he was, doing exactly that. _Initiating It,_ no less.

They ended up in a grocery market of all places. Uryū went down random aisles grabbing various sorts of things ranging from wasabi to bean paste, chili oil to chocolate syrup, and sesame seeds to yuzu berries.

"Uryū, why are you getting all of these things?" she asked as they walked down another aisle.

"Because we're going to have ice cream sundaes," he replied, pulling various flavors of ice cream from the freezer.

A small smile graced her lips, _"Ah. Now I undersand."_

She should have known that Uryū would have spotted something wrong with her. Out of the four of them, he was the most observant.

He must have also realized that no matter how bad someone's day is, a little bowl of ice cream can make it all better.

* * *

Hichigo arrived in his room, and punched the wall in frustration. He blinked in surprise at the dent that appeared before cursing,

"Fuck."

It had happened again. He had lost control and had turned into some sort of beast. The worst part? He still wanted to kill something. Despite the fact he was thinking logically again, he truly wanted to rip someone, _anyone, _to shreds.

He didn't know what was happening to him. It was frightening. Did the other Espada and Arrancar go through the same thing? Did they try to fight off their beastly instincts, or did they embrace them like a long lost friend?

What was in that serum exactly? Did he even want to know?

What about Aizen? Why did the others seem to not care that he controlled them? And those who did care, why didn't they do anything about it?

He punched the wall again, enlarging the dent. He didn't know what else to do, other than hit something.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Grimmjow stood in Hichigo's doorway, looking at him with a smirk on his face.

"Tch, I'm not doing anything."

"Clearly you are. You seem angry about something."

"You could say that."

Grimmjow sauntered in and proceeded to make himself comfortable on Hichigo's bed, as if he owned the place.

"_How very cat-like," _Hichigo mused.

"So tell me, Mr. Cero Espada, what seems to be troubling you?"

"What are you, a therapist? And I'm not the Cero Espada."

"Not officially. You won't be until you're marked."

"Marked?"

"All of us Espada have a tattoo on our body that designates our rank. Mine's on my lower back."

"Well, I'm not going to be marked, because I'm not going to be the Cero Espada."

Grimmjow snorted, "You don't have a choice."

A pair of hands wrapped around his throat. Hichigo stood over him, glaring intensely.

"What gives anyone of you the right to tell me what I can or cannot be? Despite what you may believe, you don't _own _me."

Grimmjow smirked, "But you've already fallen under their grasp. That serum they inject in you has two purposes. The first is to change you into heaven knows what. The second thing the serum does is warp your mind, causing you to _always_ be on auto pilot. To sum it up, they're making you into a mindless beast."

"How do I stop it? How come none of you seem mindless? What's your secret?"

A feral grin warped Grimmjow's face. He grabbed Hichigo wrists and threw him off. The tables had been turned. Now Grimmjow had Hichigo pinned, his clawed hand wrapped around his throat.

"I can teach you."

Hichigo raised an eyebrow before giving Grimmjow a feral grin of his own.

* * *

Ichigo panted heavily, and was covered in sweat. He had been training for hours and his muscles ached profusely, but he didn't stop. He was currently training with Kensei. The drill sergeant was coaching him on the best punches and kicks he could use to take down an opponent. Ichigo already knew most of them, having figured them out during the times he had scuffles at school.

He didn't even know what time it was. The training ground they were in was always light. Was the sun still out, or had it already gone down?

"Ichigo, why don't you take a break? You've done enough for today."

Ichigo smiled gratefully as Kisuke threw him a bottle of water. He began drinking it as if he hadn't had water for days. The bottle was downed in a minute, and he wiped his mouth, satisfied.

He looked around at his comrades. They were an interesting bunch of people, that was for sure. But, he was used to hanging out with strange people.

Still, these _were _new people he was going to have to deal with. Other than their names, and bits and pieces of their personalities, he really didn't know much about them.

He wandered into the forensics room, spotting that girl—her name was Nemu, right?—doing…something. He didn't know exactly what and he'd probably be confused if he asked. He decided to get to know her first. Out of everyone, he guessed she was the easiest to talk to.

At least, she seemed that way.

"Um… Hi."

"Hello," she replied, not looking up from her work.

"You're name is Nemu, right? Is it alright if I talk with you? I'm trying to get to know everyone better here."

"That's fine, though I can't promise your safety in the lab."

"Oh, um, ok."

It became quiet. Awkwardly quiet. Ichigo was wrong. Talking to her was a lot more difficult than he thought.

"So, have you always liked this science stuff?" he asked, trying to strike up a good conversation.

"I suppose so. But the main reason I'm in here is because I can handle toxins and poisons better than the others."

Ichigo furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?"

She was silent and Ichigo was afraid he offended her.

"It's alright if you don't want to tell me."

"No, it's alright. My father, Mayuri, he used to experiment on me."

"He _experimented _on you?"

"Mhm. My father has always been different, but after my mom passed away, he… changed. He first started to experiment on himself to ease his pain. Overtime, it became enjoyable, and he then started to experiment on me.

"He would inject various things in my blood stream. It would always be just enough to hurt each time, but never enough to kill me. After so many days with whatever he put in my body, he would cut me open and see how it affected my organs. He would then give me other things to counter whatever was in my body, and I would more or less be healed. And then he'd start the process over again."

Ichigo couldn't believe, didn't _want _to believe what he was hearing. How could anyone cut up their own daughter?

"How many times did he cut you open?"

"I lost count, but he always did it in the same spot."

She lifted her shirt to show him. Just seeing the scar made Ichigo hurt. It was long, going from her breastbone to her hipbone, and it was jagged, as if he'd cut her in a zigzag. His fist clenched.

"You don't think he's doing this to Hichigo, do you?"

She shook her head, "No. To him, the things he did to me are child's play. My father's a very brilliant man, and he's probably changed some things since the last time I've seen him. Also, he's probably combined his serums with Aizen's own Hōgyoku based serums. Whatever he's doing to your brother, if he's still alive, is something horrible."

"You say he's doing, has done, all of these horrible things and yet you call him _brilliant?"_

"He is brilliant."

"He experiment on you! He treated you, his own daughter, like an animal. Did he even _care _about you at all?"

"No."

His jaw clenched and Nemu took notice, "There's no need to feel upset. What's done is done and neither of us can change what happened to me. It's alright though, because I'm safe now. I never have to see him again."

"How did you escape in the first place?"

"Some of our neighbors reported suspicious activity to the police force. They put the matter in Mr. Urahara's hands. He found me and brought me here."

"I see. If I ever come across your father, I'll be sure to put a stop to him, once and for all."

"You don't have to make yourself a hero for me."

Ichigo laughed, "Hero? I'm no hero. I'm just a guy who puts family above all else. You have a new family here, and I won't let Mayuri or Aizen take that away from you. I promise."

* * *

Orihime hummed contently as her spoon stuck out of her mouth.

"Are you enjoying your sundae, Orihime?" Uryū asked.

"Oh, yes! Would you like to try a bite of mine?"

"As tempting as strawberry ice cream mixed with wasabi and drizzled with chili oil sounds, I think, I'll pass. I've had enough ice cream for the evening."

"_How you haven't gotten food poisoning really baffles me, Orihime."_

Orihime smiled, she knew Uryū was being a lot kinder than he could have been.

"Thank you for today, Uryū. I appreciate you taking away from your own time for me. You didn't have to."

"Of course, I didn't have to. I did it because I want to. I'm your friend, Orihime, and I notice when you're not being yourself."

"Uryū…"

"All this stuff that's happened so quickly—the fire, Ichigo dropping out of school and leaving to find Hichigo—I know that it's been tough for you, I really do, but you have to remember you're not in this alone. I know how you feel, because they're my best friends as well. Don't try to bear this on your own when I'm right here to bear it with you."

Orihime's eyes widened. How could she have been so stupid, so heartless? She had believed, no, was ignorant enough to think that she was going through this difficult time by herself, when in reality Uryū was feeling the same pain she was. And she didn't even notice.

She sniffled, her eyes becoming cloudy, "Uryū, I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He wrapped his arms around her in a friendly embrace.

"Don't cry, Orihime."

"_Note to self: remember to ask Hichigo and Ichigo to beat you up when they get back."_

* * *

Hichigo followed Grimmjow down the hallway. It was quiet, save for the echo of their footsteps. Grimmjow's tail flicked back and forth and Hichigo couldn't help but snort in amusement.

"What the hell are you laughing at?"

"Nothing."

"Tch."

"Where exactly are we going, anyways? Better yet, _when _are we going to get there?"

"So impatient. We'll get there when we get there, now shut up and walk, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

"It was just a question, and what do you mean 'we don't want to draw attention to ourselves'?"

"What part of 'shut up' don't you understand?"

They arrived at a door and Grimmjow knocked. The door swung open to reveal Ulquiorra, looking as deadpan as usual.

"Yes?"

"The new kid wants an escape." Grimmjow replied, nodding his head towards Hichigo.

"Were you seen?"

"No."

"You're absolutely sure?"

"Positive."

"Very well, follow me."

They followed him inside his room and Hichigo watched as they moved Ulquiorra's bed to reveal a trap door.

"Well don't just stand there like an idiot, come on," Grimmjow grumbled, noticing the look of stupor on Hichigo's face.

The three of them arrived in some sort of training ground. Hichigo was surprised to find other people there: Nelliel, Tier, and Starrk.

"What is this place?"

"I said you wanted an escape, didn't I? Well this is it, _this _is our escape. This is the place we come to without the watchful eyes of those bastards. This is the place we train… for freedom."

* * *

Aizen, Mayuri, and Gin watched Hichigo, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra on their surveillance before being cut off from them, as if they were taken off radar.

"Well, this is interesting." Gin mused.

"Very interesting. Should we take action? I would personally love to run more tests on our newest subject. This serum is doing far more than I could have imagined, and so quickly too."

Aizen smiled, "No, don't do anything, yet. We'll let them have their fun. Besides, it's been rather dull around here lately. Perhaps things will spice up a bit."

* * *

Author's note:

Greetings everyone!

I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.

Some of you might be wondering: "Where are Tatsuki and Chad?" don't worry, they'll make their debut soon :)

The next chapter (and possibly the one after) is going to be strictly Hichigo so stay tuned!

Reviews are nice :).

Take care and God bless,

SingingButterflyRose


	8. Chapter 8

Bleach (c) Tite Kubo. I am just a loyal, borderline obsessed fan :)

Story idea (c) me

* * *

"Wait, wait, _wait_. _All _of you want to escape this place?" Hichigo just stared.

Grimmjow sneered. "Did I stutter?"

"This just seems too unreal to me. Why should I trust any of you?"

"Haven't I already told you that some of us have tried to escape countless times?"

"Like who, you? What about Bat-Boy over here, or Ms. Amazon and her Noble Steed, or the Lazy Gun-Slinger?"

"Do you honestly think we don't want to escape?" Harribel glared, apparently not liking the fact that Hichigo had insulted her and Nelliel again.

He glared back. "You haven't given me a reason to think otherwise."

"We have tried to escape, Hichigo. The rest of us just aren't as…_vocal _about it as Grimmjow," Nelliel answered.

"Tch. I am _not_ vocal_." _

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes. "The last time you tried to escape you shouted, and I quote, 'Ha, ha, ha. This is the day when I, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez escape from all you motherfucking bitches. You can all go to hell.' After your little speech Aizen shocked you so hard you were comatose for a week, and you got your weapon privileges revoked. Quite frankly, you probably would have succeeded in escaping had you not given your victory speech before, oh I don't know, _escaping."_

Hichigo wondered how Ulquiorra kept a straight face through all that.

"Shut the hell up, Ulquiorra, I was in the heat of the moment. Besides, like I give a rat's ass about having my weapon privileges revoked. I don't _need _any weapons. I'm a cat for fuck's sake. I have claws." He grinned.

"Why would Aizen give you weapons in the first place? Didn't he take into consideration that some of you might want to leave?"

"The Hōgyoku Corporation is a very interesting organization. We're like an underground mafia."

"An underground mafia? So what, there are people working for you?"

"Exactly. We do more than just burn houses. We control a whole connection of businesses. Those of us with more _human _appearances, such as Starrk, Baraggan, and Harribel, work as spies on occasion to make sure things are running the way Aizen wants them too," Grimmjow replied, "It's also their job to warn us of any potential dangers and how they might threaten our organization."

"Human? Every single one of you has a gaping hole somewhere in your body. That would turn a few heads, I'm sure."

"You idiot, we don't walk around like this all the time."

Harribel was getting annoyed, Hichigo could tell.

"So what about the rest of you? What purpose do you serve?"

It was Ulquiorra that spoke when no one else volunteered. "Some of us are known as the enforcers. Those people are Nnoitra, Grimmjow, and myself. Our job is to intimidate people into doing what Aizen wants," he answered, "But we go out at night. We're meant to strike fear in people, and what better time to do that than under the cover of darkness?"

"Others," Nelliel said, "Zommari, Szayel, and Aaroniero—work with Mayuri in his lab, and find new ways to perfect the serum. Because there are eleven of us, now twelve including you, there are twelve serums. Each of them share a common trait since the base is the hōgyoku serum, but they also have a small twist, which is why none of us look the same. At least, none of the Espada do."

"What do you mean? There are more than just the Espada here?"

"We Espada are a subdivision of a larger group known as the Arrancar," Starrk answered. "They only have the Hōgyoku serum in them, so they have a more human appearance than we Espada."

_That's right,_ Hichigo remembered Aizen mentioning something about the fact he was now part of the Arrancars, or Army of the Masked Beast.

"And what purpose do they serve?"

"I suppose you could call them our scouts. They do things that Aizen doesn't deem worthy enough for us Espada."

"So what about the other Espada? That leaves, you and Yammy," Hichigo asked, turning to Nelliel.

"Yammy is nothing more than a giant brute. He really serves no purpose with the Espada. However, Aizen gave him a rank because he whined too much. His 'job' is to make sure the rest of us stay in line. As for myself, I have a very interesting role. Because of my appearance, I'm mostly used as a form of transportation, particularly for Tier. But my most important role is…"

Something about her hesitation set him on edge. "Is what? Tell me, Nelliel."

"I'm…" There was another moment of indecision before her resolve set and she looked him in the eye. "I'm the one who's in charge of which houses to burn. I do my scouting at night, and when I find a family that Aizen wants destroyed, I do so."

Hichigo lunged at her, only to be held back by Grimmjow and Ulquiorra.

He snarled. "You bitch."

"I'm sorry, Hichigo."

"Oh, you're _sorry? _Tell me, what was going through your mind when you were standing outside my house before deciding to burn it down?"

"Calm down. We all take part in burning down the houses, not just her," Grimmjow said.

"But she's the one who initiates it."

"Believe me Hichigo, I don't like to do what I do, but I do have to do it. We might be looking for a way to escape, but we still have our jobs."

"Tch. Well you can't always have had that job. So who was in charge of burning your house?"

"The only other Espada that were here were Starrk and _Barragan_. They were in charge of scouting until Harribel and I arrived."

"You still haven't answered my question about why Aizen gives you weapons. Surely he knows that some of you will revolt… So why?"

"That's just Aizen. He likes to test things. He's testing our loyalty to him. If we revolt, all he has to do is put us in a comatose state and take control of our minds again. If we don't revolt, we won't be punished. If we do, he might as well make us mindless robots with that serum," Starrk answered.

"What Aizen didn't take into account though was the fact that some of us embraced our instinct, instead of letting it control us," Harribel added.

"There's something else," Nelliel said. "All of us Espada have managed to embrace our instinctual side; there's no doubt about that. But some of us, those of us that are here, have something worth living for. That's the reason we're escaping. The other Espada don't have anything worth living for. If we were like them, then we wouldn't be trying to escape."

"Something worth living for? Like what?"

It was quiet among the group. Hichigo raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"I'm living for Lilynette."

Everyone turned their heads to look at Starrk, waiting for him to continue.

"Lilynette?" Hichigo asked.

"My daughter. She wasn't at the house when it was set on fire by Aizen. She was on a school trip. My wife was the one who worked with the Detective Specialist, which is why Aizen targeted our house. She obviously died, and I was forced here. I can only imagine what it must have been like for Lilynette to arrive to a destroyed home with no one there. She was only a small child when it happened, not even five… It's been 10 years since I've seen her. She might not even accept me as I am now, but as long as I get to see her, alive and well, I'll be happy."

"What about you two?" Hichigo asked, looking at Harribel and Nelliel. "You're living for each other, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Harribel responded. "Nelliel's father and my mother married each other when we were three. They were single parents and both of them worked for the Detective Specialist."

"We've been together for such a long time," Nelliel continued, "If Aizen was to split us apart…"

Grimmjow scoffed. "This is getting really mushy."

Nelliel glared. "So what? Hichigo asked what we were living for, so we gave him our answers. You have an answer too, don't you, Grimmjow? Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"Yes, please enlighten us." Hichigo grinned in his direction.

"Wipe that smile off your face, kid. I'm not living for anything other than myself. My entire family was killed in the fire, so I can't be living for them. But when my dad worked as a Detective Specialist, I had freedom. Now that it's been taken away from me, I want it back."

Everyone turned to look at Ulquiorra, who was staring off into space with a bored expression. Noticing the others looking at him, he asked, "Is it my turn?"

The others nodded.

"The reason I want to escape is to _find _my reason for living. My dad was a drunk, and my mother was a Detective Specialist, so neither was really around. My mother tried to form a solid relationship with me, but so many years had passed by that I wasn't willing to try. That was my own fault. After she died, I realized it was too late. The two of us weren't close at all, so I'm not living for her memory, but since I can't live for her, I want to find someone I can live for."

"Hopefully someone who can loosen you up and get you laid, unemotional stiff," Grimmjow mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for Hichigo only to hear. Hichigo smirked.

"And the other Espada have nothing worth living for?" he asked.

"No. Baraggan's daughter worked for the Detective Specialist, and from what I've heard, the two of them didn't get along. He's probably glad to be rid of her. Nnoitra heard about the Hōgyoku Corporation through unknown means and asked to burn down his house himself, the sadistic fuck."

The others looked at Nelliel with bewildered amusement. She was the last person they'd expect to drop an "f" bomb.

"I'm sorry. He just doesn't sit well with me."

"What about the others? Zommari, Szayel, Yammy and Aaro…Aaroni…the 9th Espada, the one that sounds like he has a fish tank on his head? What's behind that mask of his anyways?

"You don't want to know," the others said quickly.

"Oh. Okay then."

Starrk yawned. "To answer your question though, we haven't a clue about Zommari. He doesn't talk much. Szayel actually met Mayuri on the street one day, was intrigued, and was interested in what we did. He's the only one of us who didn't have a house burned and who didn't have a member of their family in the Detective Specialist. Yammy is... _Yammy_. There really isn't a way to describe him other than he gets angry. That's probably why he wants to stay, because he can vocalize his rage here. As for Aaroniero… After we burned his house, he ate the bodies of his deceased family members. We're pretty sure he's insane."

_I'm pretty sure I'm going to be sick,_ Hichigo thought to himself.

"But when you arrived, we knew you were going to be different. You put up one hell of a fight, and you kept on saying your brother's name. We knew that you would be like us. He's your reason, right? Wanting to find your brother is your reason for escaping?" Nelliel said.

"Damn straight it is."

"I think I'm safe in assuming there's someone else, right?" she continued.

Orihime's smiling face came to Hichigo's mind. He sighed and looked away. "Yeah..."

"What's her name?"

Nelliel had an awfully mischievous look in her eyes.

"_Her_ name? What makes you think I'm talking about a girl?"

Harribel gave a snort. "A blind person would be able to tell you're talking about a girl. What is her name?"

"Orihime. Orihime Inoue."

"Well, she must be one hell of a looker then, huh? Thought you were about to have an orgasm just thinking about her."

"Grimmjow!" Nelliel looked appalled.

Grimmjow just rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'm just calling it like I see it. I'm right though, aren't I? I know I am, because you've got a defensive look in your eye and you just balled your hands into a fist, Hichigo. She must have been something special to get a response like that. Was she your girlfriend?"

"Orihime is far too perfect for a delinquent like me. I'm surprised we're even friends."

Grimmjow got a devilish grin on his face. "Oh, she's single?"

"If I find out you went anywhere near her, you're head will be a mounted to my wall. Out of the four of us—Ichigo, Uryū, Orihime and I—Orihime was the most innocent. I'm not going to let her be tainted. Not by anyone, not by you, not by Ichigo and Uryū, and especially not by me. No matter how much I might want her."

"You love her, don't you?"

Hichigo was glad he wasn't easily embarrassed. "Yeah, I do."

Nelliel beamed. "Well then, lover boy, we'd best get started on you. First, we need to get Aizen to administer you a weapon. Every white knight needs a sword to protect his princess."

Hichigo raised his eyes suspiciously, "You are entirely too chipper right now."

"Of course I am, now that I know your reason for living."

Hichigo groaned. He wished he hadn't said anything to this bunch.

* * *

"Aizen, it looks like the renegade bunch is back on the radar," Gin said when their signals came back on screen.

Not long after, a video surveillance showed the six of them walking down the corridor.

"Ah, so they've finally finished their little meeting. I suspect they want me to give Shiro his weapon now. Tousen, why don't you round up the other Espada?" We'll have Shiro test out his new weapon on all of them."

"Sir."

"Do ya think that's a good idea? Giving them what they want?" Gin asked.

"If anything, it'll provide us with entertainment. There's nothing more entertaining than watching your subordinates fight against one another."

* * *

"Just how many meetings do you guys have?" Hichigo asked after the six of them heard the message from Tousen echo throughout the halls.

"Twice a week. At the first meeting, he gives us a mission, and at the second, we give him a report on that mission."

"So he's going to give you all an assignment this time?"

"Probably."

The door to the meeting room opened and they walked inside, noticing the other Espada already seated.

"Well this is interesting. Seeing the six of you together seems highly suspicious," Nnoitra voiced.

Hichigo raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about? We simply ran into each other in the hall. I want nothing to do with them. They'd most likely be in my way."

_Oh, he's good,_ the other five thought to themselves as they sat down.

"Is everyone here? Good, let's have a cup of tea," Aizen said as he, Gin, and Tousen took their places.

_What the hell is with this guy and tea?_ Hichigo thought to himself.

"It has come to my attention that our newest member hasn't received his weaponry yet," Aizen continued while tea was placed in front of the Espada. He scanned the table, watching the six renegades look slightly shocked for a moment. His lips curled. "Gin, why don't you bring it out?"

Gin exited the room then came back with a sword in his hand. It was a sleek, white katana. The blade's edge was slightly serrated and it was partially hollow. At the end of its hilt was a chain, and its guard resembled a swastika. Gin placed it on the table in front of Hichigo, who stared down at it.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"

"I want you to test it out."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that? I've never used a sword in my life."

"It'll come to you naturally, Shiro. You see, every weapon an Espada has, has a bit of them inside of it. When you arrived here, we took a bit of your DNA and injected it into the metal of the sword while it was still hot. The Hōgyoku serum is also injected into it. A part of you is in that sword. You'll know how to use it."

Hichigo stared down at the white blade. _This has my DNA in it? How is that even possible?_

He wasn't even sure if he wanted to know.

"So what do you expect me to do, use it on them?" He gestured towards the Espada. He wasn't being serious either. Surely, Aizen wouldn't make him fight against people who'd had far more training than he had.

"Precisely."

"…_What?"_

You will fight against each of the Espada. Right here, right now."

Aizen glanced over at the renegades, noticing a flicker of panic. He wondered if they'd hold back.

"You can't be serious? There's no way I'm going to fight against a bunch of genetically enhanced freaks."

"I am serious, and you will. You are a pawn in my army now, if I want you to fight until you can't move, then you'll fight until you can't move. If I want you to kill, then you'll kill. If I want you to sacrifice yourself, then you'll sacrifice yourself. If I want you to do anything, then you'll do it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Like hell."

Hichigo stood up, and began walking away, leaving the sword on the table.

"Where are you going, Shiro?"

No answer.

Aizen snapped his fingers. Moments later, something heavy collided with Hichigo's stomach and he slammed against the wall, his head cracking loudly against it.

"Son of a bitch," he seethed, rubbing his head, "Who the fuck did that?"

There was a clatter and the white sword was thrown at his feet. Yammy loomed over him. "Pick up your sword, Shiro."

When Hichigo didn't act quickly enough for Yammy's liking, he kicked him in the stomach. "Pick it up, I said!"

"Damn you, fucking, ugly brute."

"Pick it up!"

Hichigo swung his sword, colliding it with Yammy's tree trunk legs and slicing it open. "Shut up!"

Yammy howled and Hichigo stared as blood squirted on his face. He couldn't believe he just did that. He didn't even have time to completely register what he had done because Yammy back handed him once again, sending him flying across the room.

* * *

Aizen watched with amusement as the event unfolded.

The other Espada sat around, waiting patiently, and not so patiently for their chance to battle Hichigo.

"Harribel, come here please."

"Sir?"

It will be a while until it's your turn, I want you to do some investigating for me. There's a small run down bar owned by a mafia member. He's informed me that there's been some strange activity there lately. A strange man has been coming there with a young man, and the two have been acting oddly suspicious. I want you to check it out, and report back to me."

"Yes, sir."

As she began walking away, Nelliel followed.

"Not you, Nelliel. It's far too light outside for you to be out in public."

She looked momentarily pissed before taking her place. "Yes, sir."

Harribel looked back once more and exited the room.

* * *

The bell rang as Harribel walked through the door of the bar.

"Um, uh, what can I get you, Miss?" The bar tender stammered as she sat down on one of the stools

"A Shirley Temple is fine."

"Anything else? An Amaretto and Coke? A Screwdriver? Perhaps-"

"I _said_, a Shirley Temple is fine," she responded coldly.

"Y-yes, coming right up."

Harribel looked around the bar.

She was the only other customer here save for a couple of men in one of the back booths. One of them, who's hair was bright orange and spiky, had his back towards her, the other was facing her. His white and green striped hat shaded his eyes, but Harribel could have sworn the man was staring at her—or rather, glaring—as he conversed with his orange haired companion.

Minutes turned to hours before the two men in the back finally got up from their seats. As they walked past Harribel, she did a double take. The orange top…there was no mistaking that look. She followed them out. She had to check again, just to make sure.

"That was a mistake, following us out here."

She stopped and turned. The guy with the hat and the orange top were leaning against the wall. Harribel vaguely noticed a black cat circling their feet.

"Everyone in the Detective Specialist knows that that bar is owned by Aizen. It was only a matter of time until he sent one of his lackeys to investigate it," the man with the hat spoke.

"Do you think it's wise to reveal who you are you to me?" she countered.

"I have no shame in revealing I'm a Detective Specialist, much less their leader. Aizen already knows that."

_Ah, so this is Kisuke Urahara_, she thought to herself.

"So tell us, Miss..."

"Harribel."

"Miss Harribel, did you find out anything worth sharing with your leader?"

"Well, that depends on who he is," she replied, pointing towards the orange top, who's scowl had deepened.

"You're Ichigo, aren't you?"

He didn't answer.

"I know you are. You look so much like your brother."

The scowl dropped from his face. "You know Hichigo?"

"Of course I do, we're comrades now. Tell me, has he always been so brash?"

Ichigo gave a snort before scowling once more. "What has Aizen done to him? Has he changed much?"

"He's changed, but not near as much as my other comrades," she replied before walking away.

"Wait, what does that mean? Where are you going?" Ichigo called after her.

"What do you mean? I'm going back to my base of operation."

"You're not going to tell us where it is?" She could hear the desperation in his voice.

"Stupid boy, of course not."

* * *

"Stop. Stop!" Ichigo called as she continued walking away. He made a move to follow her, but Urahara grasped his shoulder firmly.

"Let her go, Ichigo."

"You've got to be kidding me? She knows where Hichigo is, we've got to follow her!"

"Listen to me Ichigo, right now, following her is a death trap. I know you're hell bent on saving your brother, but right now, you don't stand a chance against Aizen, and he's surely not going to give up Hichigo that easily. If you go in there now, both you and he are likely to die."

"But Kisuke, I've been training for months now. I'm ready."

"You're not ready, Ichigo."

"Kisuke-"

"You're not ready, Ichigo! I brought you here with me because I had a feeling there would be something worth seeing or hearing, and I was right. But you are not ready to take Aizen on. I'm sorry."

There was silence before Ichigo punched their car, creating a dent on the hood.

* * *

Harribel walked through the doors to the room where everyone was still gathered. Hichigo was battered and bloody and was currently fighting Ulquiorra, who was above him, throwing green, glowing lances. Hichigo countered by swinging his sword and a white light outlined in black erupted from it, enveloping Ulquiorra.

_It seems he's gotten the hang of things_, she thought to herself.

"Welcome back, Harribel. Do you have anything worth sharing with us?" Aizen greeted.

"Yes. Ichigo Kurosaki is alive."

Hichigo and Ulquiorra stopped their fight, with the former staring at Harribel with a mix of apprehension and excitement.

Aizen raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Go on."

"He's been training to become a Detective Specialist, and he's hell bent on rescuing his brother."

"I see."

Hichigo began to laugh.

"Is something funny, Shiro?"

"He's alive, my brother is alive. You just wait, Aizen, Ichigo and I are going to kill you, together. We'll both get stronger, and we'll destroy everything and everyone here, but mostly you."

Aizen didn't like what he was hearing, and in retaliation he sent electric shocks through Hichigo's body, who doubled over, writhing pain.

"Don't be a fool, Shiro. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be such a monster that your brother will want to kill you instead."

He walked away as Hichigo lay on the floor, breathing heavily.

* * *

"You seemed a little angry out there, boss," Gin said as he walked into Aizen's office.

"Gin, I want you to up the security here. If our newest member wants to escape that bad, then we'll make it a challenge."

"And if he does escape to find his brother?"

"_If_ he escapes? Well then, we'll send him to the outside world, and we'll lock him and anyone who helps him in cages so the entire world can see what monsters they've become. They want to go out into society, let's see if society accepts them."

* * *

Author's note:

...Well hi there! I'd like to introduce myself. The names SingingButterflyRose (Rose for short) and I'm the author of this here fanfic...*sweat drop*

I suppose an apology isn't enough for making you guys wait for so long, but nevertheless...I'm sorry. I don't have a good excuse either, just laziness and procrastination.

Still, I hope you all have enjoyed this latest installment!

Reviews make me smile.

Take care and God bless,

Rose


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